23 September 2016: The 12th meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC-12) of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants adopted decisions recommending that the Conference of the Parties (COP) take a decision to eliminate short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) and decabromodiphenyl ether (commercial mixture, c-decaBDE) under the Convention, and adopted risk profiles on two other chemicals. The meeting took place from 19-23 September 2016 in Rome, Italy. Participants included POPRC members, government observers, and representatives of NGOs and intergovernmental organizations.

POPRC-12 adopted a risk management evaluation (RME) for SCCPs, which had been under review by the POPRC for ten years. The POPRC recommended to the COP that it consider listing SCCPs in Annex A to the Convention, including controls to limit the presence of SCCPs in other chlorinated paraffin mixtures, with or without specific exemptions. POPRC-12 approved a revised version of the RME for c-decaBDE drafted by POPRC-11, and recommended to the COP that it consider listing c-decaBDE in Annex A to the Convention with specific exemptions for the automotive industry.

POPRC-12 also adopted two risk profiles, one for dicofol and the other for pentadecafluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and PFOA-related compounds, and established intersessional working groups to prepare RMEs for each.

At the request of COP-7, POPRC-12 evaluated whether information on unintentional releases of hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD) supported a decision on listing HCBD in Annex C. While the Committee concluded that there are unintentional releases of HCBD from the production of certain chlorinated hydrocarbons, the production of magnesium, incineration processes and the production of polyvinyl chloride, ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride monomer, it noted concerns regarding the cost-benefit implications of measures to address such releases and did not offer a specific recommendation to the COP regarding Annex C listing.

In other actions, POPRC-12 amended and endorsed the consolidated guidance on alternatives to perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and its related chemicals. It discussed the biennial process for reviewing progress toward elimination of brominated diphenyl ethers (BDEs) listed in Annex A and the continued need for specific exemptions for those BDEs. POPRC-12 also adopted a decision on activities related to supporting effective participation in Committee work, and discussed the possibility of including waste experts in its future deliberations. [IISD RS Coverage of POPRC-12]