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Stockholm Convention

Introduction

The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) was adopted on 22 May 2001 by the Conference of Plenipotentiaries in Stockholm, Sweden, and entered into force in 2004. As of February 2019, it has 182 Parties and thus its coverage is global. The overarching objective of the Stockholm Convention is to protect human health and the environment from chemicals that remain intact in the environment for long periods, become widely distributed geographically, accumulate in the fatty tissue of humans and wildlife, and have harmful impacts on human health or on the environment.

The current scope of the Stockholm Convention is 28 POPs, which are pesticides, industrials chemicals and/or byproducts. Any Party may submit proposal for listing a new chemical to be listed under the Convention. The scientific subsidiary body, the POPs Review Committee, evaluates the proposals and makes recommendation to the Conference of the Parties on such listing.

The provisions of the Convention center around the following principal aims:

Eliminating production and use. Most of the intentionally produced POPs are targeted for immediate elimination with very few exceptions. PCBs are the most notable exception. Production has been stopped but their use in existing equipment is allowed until 2025 to ensure that PCBs are disposed of in an environmentally sound manner.

Restricting production and use.  The Convention allows very limited and carefully controlled use of certain POPs while also seeking alternatives. For example, DDT is only allowed to be used to control disease vectors like the mosquitoes that carry malaria.

Reducing unintentional production with the aim of elimination. The Convention promotes the use of the best available means of preventing the release of dioxins and furans from major sources into the environment.

Ensuring wastes containing POPs are managed safely and in an environmentally sound manner. TheConvention requires that such wastes be identified and managed to reduce or eliminate POPs releases from these sources. The Convention also recognizes that a special effort may sometimes be needed to phase out certain chemicals for specific uses and seeks to ensure that this effort is made. It also channels resources into cleaning up the existing stockpiles and dumps of POPs that litter the world’s landscapes.

Targeting additional POPs. The Convention is charged with identifying other POPs chemicals that require action. This is achieved through a scientifically rigorous process and ensures that those chemicals are considered even if there is a lack of scientific certainty about the harm they cause.

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