Highlights for Thursday, 22 November 2007

The third meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC-3) to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) convened for its fourth and penultimate day on Thursday 22 November in Geneva, Switzerland.

In the morning, POPRC-3 heard reports from the contact groups and the drafting groups.

POPRC-3 then reached agreement on the risk management evaluation (RME) and draft decision for chlordecone. Delegates subsequently broached discussions on the output from the contact groups on lindane and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS).

In the afternoon, POPRC-3 considered many issues. On endosulfan, POPRC-3 agreed to suspend the consideration of endosulfan and resume it at POPRC-4, on the understanding that this should not set any precedents. POPRC-3 also finalized draft decisions and RMEs on hexabromobiphenyl (HBB), and draft decisions and risk profiles on alpha hexachlorocyclohexane (alpha-HCH), beta hexachlorocyclohexane (beta-HCH).  On PFOS, the Committee discussed the inclusion of PFOS-fluoride (PFOSF) in its listing recommendation. On pentabromodiphenyl ether (pentaBDE), they deferred listing either BDE-47 and BDE-99 or listing BDEs with four and BDEs with five bromines.

A small drafting group met to write a rationale for the listing of PFOSF and another drafting group continued to discuss short chained chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs).