According to Chemical Watch, the EU has stated it supports a global ban on perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and its compounds, during the plenary session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). It said that it plans to submit a proposal to add the compounds to Annex A of the Convention after the COP on 6 May 2015.

Parties shall take measures to eliminate manufacture and use of the chemicals listed in Annex A to Stockholm Convention. Annex A also specifies special exemption for manufacture and use of such chemicals, which is only applicable to parties that have applied for exemption registration.

Introduction: Stockholm Convention is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants (POPs). It took effect in 2004 with its chemicals that listed as POPs includes: Aldrin, Chlordane, Chlordecone, Dieldrin, Endrin, Heptachlor, Hexabromobiphenyl, Hexabromodiphenyl ether, Heptabromodiphenyl ether, Hexachlorobenzene, Lindane, Mirex, Pentachlorobenzene, Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), Endosulfan and its related isomers, Tetrabromodiphenyl ether, Pentabromodiphenyl ether, Toxaphene, DDT, Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, its salts and perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride, Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD) , Polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDF).

It takes at least five years to complete all procedures to add a chemical in Stockholm Convention.

Jessica Bowman, executive director of the Fluoro Council industry group, says they will back a PFOA POP nomination to the Stockholm Convention, and adds that the group's members no longer produce or use PFOA globally as they have developed alternatives which are environmentally friendly and approved by regulatory authorities.

According to the EU, the fluoropolymer market is growing by 5-6% a year. Traditional markets such as the US, Japan and EU have been greatly reduced, but manufacture is growing in China and Russia.

PFOA compounds are used in consumer products and industrial application, which may lead to thousands of industrial compounds that may be harmful to most living things, environment and human health.

So it is of vital importance to include the proposal in the Stockholm Convention to prevent the continuing application of such chemicals.

Further information
CE-EU tells Stockholm Convention meeting of PFOA ban proposal

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