18th Meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee to the Stockholm Convention (POPRC-18)
Recently the 18th meeting of the Stockholm Convention Review Committee on Sustainable Organic Pollutants (POPRC-18) has concluded.
- The committee has reviewed four of the five chemicals under consideration.
- It has recommended listing of Dechlorane Plus (Flame Retardant) and UV-328 (Stabilizer) under Annex-A of the Stockholm Convention.
- Risk Management Assessment will be prepared in case of Medium Chain Chlorinated Paraffins (Flame Retardants) and Long-chain Perfluorocarboxylic Acids (PFCAs) (PFCAs).
- Thereafter these will be considered in the next meeting of the committee.
- In the case of Chlorpyrifos (Pesticide), the Committee has decided to postpone its consideration of the Draft Risk Profile.
Stockholm Convention
It is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants (POPs).
POPs are chemical substances that:
- Persist in the environment for a long time,
- Continue to accumulate in living organisms,
- Adversely affect human health/environment and
- Traveling far away from the source causes environmental impact.
It is a legally binding treaty. India ratified the Stockholm Convention in 2006.
The Environment Ministry had notified the rules for regulation of ‘POPs’ in the year 2018 under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
Conventions relating to other hazardous chemicals and wastes:
- The Basel Convention on the control and disposal of the cross-border movement of hazardous wastes was adopted in 1989.
- The Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent was adopted in the year 1998 for certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade.
Source- The Hindu
