New POPs restrictions may be introduced in the EU

Chlorpyrifos to be added to POPs Regulation:

On 14 October 2020, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) issued a notice on its official website inviting all stakeholders to review Chlorpyrifos' inclusion in the Persistent Organic Pollutants Regulation (POPs) by 9 December 2020.

About Chlorpyrifos:

Chlorpyrifos is a kind of crystalline organophosphate insecticide, which has been used in pesticide industry for more than 50 years. It is an older and more toxic pesticide.Annual chlorpyrifos use in the United States in 2000 was estimated at 20 to 24 million pounds, about 50 percent for agriculture and the other half for non-agriculture.It was developed by Dow Chemical in 1965 and is commonly known as Dursban and Lorsban.Chlorpyrifos, which is difficult to degrade and has the ability to travel long distances, is also considered harmful to developing children and can damage the nervous system, according to an EU report.So far, researchers have found chlorpyrifos in sediments in Arctic and subarctic lakes and even in human breast milk.Because of its environmental durability, and the potential biological accumulation, the aquatic and terrestrial animals (including humans) toxicity and widely exists in the environment, including remote areas, the eu came to the conclusion: the use of chlorpyrifos may cause serious damage to human health and environmental impact, and therefore global action must be taken to limit the use of chlorpyrifos.

Introduction to EU POPs regulations

Due to the chemical nature of POPs and its far-reaching toxicological effects, the control of these substances requires collaboration among countries.At present, the international community has negotiated and concluded two legally binding international instruments:

• The Ece Regional Protocol on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution of Persistent Organic Pollutants (CLRTAP), which entered into force on 23 October 2003;
• The Stockholm Global Persistent Organic Pollutants Convention entered into force on 17 May 2004.

The EU signed the two international instruments with the then 15 member States and ratified the Protocol on 30 April 2004 and the Stockholm Convention on 16 November 2004.In order to implement these two international agreements, the EU published the first edition of POPs Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 on 29 April 2004, which is consistent with the provisions of both international agreements and goes further to some extent than those of the international agreements.Since then, the EU has made several amendments to this Regulation, and published the second edition of POPs Regulation (EU) 2020/1021 on June 20, 2019.

GST reminds relevant enterprises to pay attention to the environmental protection laws and regulations in eu and other countries to meet the latest legal requirements and avoid legal disputes. You can also follow our WeChat public account, and we will update the laws and regulations in the first place.GST has a professional technical team that can track the latest developments of regulations and standards and help you develop the most comprehensive and economical compliance solutions.If you have any questions about POP regulations, REACH regulations or other product compliance issues, please feel free to contact us.