The Government has today (19 March) launched a consultation
on the latest updates to its national plan for Persistent
Organic Pollutants.
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are toxic chemical
substances that are slow to degrade, can accumulate in
human and animal tissue and are often discovered long
distances from their place of manufacture or use. POPs can
be found in consumer and industrial products such as
electronics, textiles, and furniture and can leach onto
land, into the water and into the air.
The Government is consulting with industry and the general
public on the UK’s plans to monitor, reduce and eliminate
new POPs from the environment, as well as detailing the
progress made towards the elimination of older POPs
substances.
As a signatory to the Stockholm Convention – a global
treaty signed by 184 parties to protect human health and
the environment from harmful POPs – the UK is required to
develop a National Implementation Plan to outline what
steps it has put in place to meet its obligations.
The UK’s plan was first produced in 2007 and updates were
published in 2013 and 2017. The plan has now been revised
again to update how the Convention is being implemented in
the UK and to outline next steps for the management of
POPs, particularly those substances which have been more
recently listed by the Convention for restriction,
reduction or elimination.
Many of the pesticides and industrial chemicals listed in
the Convention have already been banned in the UK for many
years. However, continued use is permitted for certain
applications based on limited exemptions. These are
outlined in Annexes A and B of the Convention.
The draft updated
National Implementation Plan has been published on
Citizen Space. Interested parties are invited to share
their views from today for eight weeks until 14 May.
