On Friday, the thirteenth meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC-13) met in plenary session in the morning, and then convened in a contact group addressing the draft risk management evaluation on pentadecafluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).

POPRC-13 elected, by acclamation, Svitlana Sukhorebra, Ukraine, as Vice Chair beginning in May 2018. The Committee then adopted the draft decision and the risk management evaluation on dicofol, and the draft decision on perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), establishing an ad hoc working group to further review the proposal to list PFHxS and prepare a draft risk profile. POPRC-13 also adopted the workplan for the intersessional period, and agreed to convene POPRC-14 in Rome, Italy, from 17-21 September 2017. In the morning session, the Committee adopted the meeting report, and agreed to defer discussions on improving the presentation of the information contained in risk profiles and risk management evaluations to POPRC-14.

Plenary was then suspended to allow the PFOA contact group to continue its consideration of the draft risk management evaluation, and to finalize a draft decision. In the afternoon, the contact group considered the executive summary related to the PFOA draft risk management evaluation, and concluded its meeting by discussing a draft decision related to the substance.

When plenary reconvened at 4:40pm, delegates carried out a full reading of the draft decision on PFOA, before adjourning into a members-only drafting group to finalize the draft decision text.

UPDATES:

- Plenary reconvenes at 21:13 to consider the executive summary of the draft risk management evaluation on PFOA.

- POPRC-13 closes at 21:58