POPs testing

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) refer to organic chemicals that persist in the environment, have a long half-life, and can accumulate through the food web, causing adverse effects on human health and the environment.

Persistent organic pollutants have environmental persistence, bioaccumulation, long-distance migration ability, and high toxicity. Therefore, they can cause widespread and long-term harm to humans and wildlife, causing disruption of the human endocrine system, damaging the reproductive and immune systems, and inducing cancer and neurological diseases. To address the global issue of persistent pollutants, the international community adopted the Stockholm Convention on May 22, 2001.

On July 3, 2007, China officially launched its National Implementation Plan for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).

The first batch of 12 persistent organic pollutants to be eliminated under the National Implementation Plan are: aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, DDT, heptachlor, chlordane, imidacloprid, toxaphene, hexachlorobenzene, polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins, and furans. China will reduce, phase out, and control the 12 persistent organic pollutants listed in the controlled list of the convention in stages, regions, and industries. According to the National Implementation Plan, China needs to invest a total of 34 billion yuan in the field of persistent organic pollutant control by 2015, supporting 17 types of activities in five major areas.

Generally, the properties of POPs can be summarized as follows:

• Highly toxic

POPs substances can also cause harm to living organisms at low concentrations. For example, the toxicity of the most toxic dioxin like substance is more than 1000 times that of potassium cyanide, making it one of the most toxic compounds in the world. The daily tolerable intake of dioxins per person is 1pg per kilogram of body weight. The 2,3,7,8-TCDD in dioxins only requires a few tens of picograms to kill guinea pigs. Continuous feeding of several picograms per kilogram of body weight for several days can cause miscarriage in pregnant monkeys. POPs substances also have biomagnification effects, and they can gradually accumulate into high concentrations through the food chain, causing greater harm.

• Durability

POPs substances have resistance to photolysis, chemical decomposition, and biodegradation. For example, dioxin series substances have a half-life of 8-400 days in the gas phase, 166 days to 2119 years in the water phase, and approximately 17 to 273 years in soil and sediment.

• Accumulation

POPs have high lipophilicity and hydrophobicity, and can bioaccumulate in the adipose tissue of living organisms, posing a threat to human health through the food chain.

• High liquidity

POPs can spread over long distances through wind and water currents. POPs substances are generally semi volatile substances that can evaporate into the atmosphere at room temperature. Therefore, they can enter the atmospheric environment in the form of vapor from water or soil or attach to particulate matter in the atmosphere. Due to their persistence, they can migrate over long distances in the atmospheric environment without being completely degraded. However, their semi volatility prevents them from permanently staying in the atmosphere. They will settle down under certain conditions and then evaporate under certain conditions. Repeated volatilization and sedimentation can lead to the dispersion of POPs in various parts of the Earth. Because POPs with this property are prone to migrate from warmer areas to colder areas, POPs pollution has been found in places far from pollution sources such as the Arctic Circle.

According to the International POPs Convention, persistent organic pollutants are classified into three categories: insecticides, industrial chemicals, and by-products of production:

1. Insecticides:

(1) Aldrin: applied to soil, used to remove termites, grasshoppers, pumpkin leaf beetles, and other insects. Production began in 1949 and has been banned by 72 countries and restricted by 10 countries.

(2) Chlordane: a broad-spectrum insecticide used to control termites and fire ants in various crops and residential lawns. It was produced in 1945 and has been banned in 57 countries and restricted in 17 countries.

(3) DDT: formerly used as a pesticide insecticide, but currently used to control mosquito and fly borne diseases. It began production in 1942 and has been banned in 65 countries and restricted in 26 countries.

(4) Dieldrin: used to control termites, textile pests, and tropical mosquito and fly borne diseases, partially used in agriculture, originated in 1948 and banned by 67 countries and restricted by 9 countries.

(5) Endrin: a pesticide used to spray leaves of crops such as cotton and grains, as well as to control rodents. It was produced in 1951 and has been banned in 67 countries and restricted in 9 countries.

(6) Heptachlor: used to kill fire ants, termites, grasshoppers, crop pests and diseases, as well as mosquitoes and flies that transmit diseases. It was produced in 1948 and has been banned in 59 countries and restricted in 11 countries.

(7) Hexachlorobenzene (HCB): First used for seed treatment, it is a fungicide for food crops and has been banned in 59 countries and restricted in 9 countries.

(8) Miex: Used to kill fire ants, termites, and other ants, it has been banned in 52 countries and restricted in 10 countries.

(9) Toxaphene: an insecticide used on cotton, grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables. It was produced in 1948 and has been banned in 57 countries and restricted in 12 countries.

2. Industrial chemicals:

Including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB).

(1)PCBs： Used as a thermal communication medium in electrical equipment such as transformers, capacitors, liquid filled high-voltage cables, fluorescent lighting rectifiers, as well as in paints and plastics.

(2)HCB： Intermediate in chemical production.

3. By products in production:

Dioxins and furans, their sources:

(1) Incomplete combustion and pyrolysis, including the incineration of urban waste, hospital waste, wood and furniture waste, automobile exhaust, non-ferrous metal production, casting and coking, power generation, cement, lime, bricks, ceramics, glass and other industrial accidents that release PCBs.

(2) The use of chlorinated compounds such as chlorophenol PCBs、 Chlorophenyl ether pesticides and mycophenolics.

(3) Chlor alkali industry.

(4) Pulp bleaching.

(5) Food contamination is caused by biological enrichment in the food chain, migration of paper packaging materials, and accidents.

International control of POPs: prohibit and restrict production, use, import and export, anthropogenic emissions, and manage waste and inventory containing POPs.

EU Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Regulation (EC) No 850/2004

The European Union issued the POPs Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 in 2004, which proposed specific control measures for POPs within the EU. And in recent years, it has been revised multiple times to include various POPs in the scope of regulatory control, as detailed in Appendix I - EU POPs related restriction requirements.

Appendix I - EU POPs related restriction requirements

In recent years, there have been multiple cases of POPs recalls in the European Union. Enterprises need to attach great importance to the restriction requirements of this regulation, promptly investigate and reduce POPs in their products, to ensure the smooth entry of products into the EU market.

New EU POPs Regulation | Revised EU 2019/1021, effective July 15th, will replace the old regulation EU850/2004

On June 25, 2019, the revised version of the EU POPs Persistent Organic Pollutants Regulation (EU 2019/1021) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Its purpose is to make it clearer, more transparent, and consistent with the legislation of other relevant alliances. The new regulation will come into effect on July 15, 2019, and the previous POPs regulation EU 850/2004 will be abolished.

The new regulation clarifies the definition and is consistent with REACH 1907/2006 and the Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC, particularly regarding the definition of substances, mixtures (previously referred to as "preparations"), and articles, which are consistent with REACH. Unintentional trace pollutants "are now defined as incidental substances that exist in extremely small amounts, below the level that cannot be intentionally used and exceeding the detection limit of existing detection methods. In addition, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) will play a new role in the regulation of persistent organic pollutants. It will be responsible for the management, technical, and scientific aspects of implementing the regulation, and accept other tasks assigned by the European Commission.

The revision of POPs also updates the substances listed in Annex I-A. Some of these substances may be found in consumer goods. The persistent organic pollutants listed in Annex I shall not be produced, put on the market, or used in substances, mixtures, or articles unless there are exemption clauses.

The specific control requirements for the two newly added substances are as follows:

Decabromodiphenyl ether

CAS number: 1163-19-5

EC number: 214-604-9

Control requirements:

For the purpose of this provision, point (b) of Article 4 (1) shall apply to substances with a concentration of decabromodiphenyl ether equal to or less than 10 mg/kg (0.001% by weight).

2. For tetrabromodiphenyl ether, pentabromodiphenyl ether, hexabromodiphenyl ether, heptabromodiphenyl ether, and decabromodiphenyl ether, point (b) of Article 4 (1) applies when the sum of their concentrations does not exceed 500mg/kg. The Committee will review and evaluate the mixtures and articles after July 16, 2021. This review should assess all relevant impacts related to health and the environment.

3. As long as member states submit reports to the Committee in accordance with the Convention before December 2019, they may manufacture, place on the market, and use decabromodiphenyl ether for the following purposes:

(a) In aircraft manufacturing, type approval has been applied for before March 2, 2019, and this application has been received between December 2022 and December 18, 2023, or, in reasonable circumstances, until March 2, 2027.

(b) Manufacturing spare parts for any of the following products:

(i) Aircraft produced before December 18, 2023, those that have applied for type certification before March 2, 2019, those that have been received before December 2022, or those produced before March 2, 2027 under reasonable circumstances until the end of the aircraft's lifespan.

(ii) Motor vehicles within the scope of 2007/46/EC produced before July 15, 2019, or until 2036 or the end of the vehicle's service life, whichever is earlier.

(c) Electronic and electrical products within the scope of 2011/65/EU control

4. Specific exemptions for vehicle spare parts refer to clause 2 (b) (ii), which can be used for the manufacture or commercial use of decabromodiphenyl ether in one or more of the following situations:

(a) Used for powertrain and engine hood, such as battery quality line, battery interconnect line, mobile air conditioning (MAC) pipe, power system, exhaust manifold liner, under hood insulation, wiring harness engine hood (engine tail swing, etc.), speed sensor, hose, fan module, and knock sensor;

(b) Applications on fuel systems, such as fuel hoses, fuel tanks, and mailboxes under the vehicle body;

(c) Fireworks devices and applications affected by fireworks, such as airbag ignition cables, seat covers/fabrics, only airbag related and airbag (front and side).

Items containing decabromodiphenyl ether that were already in use before July 15, 2019, are subject to the second, third, and fourth clauses of Article 4.

6. Without affecting the classification, labeling, and packaging of substances and mixtures in the European Union, items containing decabromodiphenyl ether should be identified by labeling or other means throughout their entire lifecycle.

7. Items containing decabromodiphenyl ether that are exempt under point 2 can be used before the exemption expires. Point 6 applies to items produced under the exemption in point 2, which can be used before the exemption expires.

For the purpose of this article, "aircraft" refers to the following:

(a) Civil aircraft produced under type certificate issued in accordance with Regulation (EC) No. 216/2008, or design permits issued in accordance with the national regulations of the contracting states of the International Civil Aviation Organization, or aircraft with airworthiness issued by the contracting states of the International Civil Aviation Organization in accordance with Annex 8 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation;

(b) Military aircraft.

Pentachlorophenol and its salts and esters

CAS number: 87-86-5, etc

EC number: 201-778-6, etc

Control requirement: Disabled

EU 2020/784 Persistent Organic Pollutants Regulation came into effect on July 4, 2020

The European Union has added persistent organic pollutants, their salts, and compounds related to perfluorooctane sulfonate to the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) recast regulation, and the latest amendments will come into effect on July 4, 2020.

On June 15, 2020, the European Union (EU) issued Regulation (EU) 2020/784 to amend Part A of Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 regarding persistent organic pollutants (POP recasts) by adding perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which provides special exemptions for its salts and PFOA related compounds for intermediate use or other specifications.

EU adds control requirements for triclosan on December 4, 2020

On August 18, 2020, the Official Journal of the European Union published the EU POPs Regulation (EU) 2019/1021)

Amendment (EU) 2020/104 to include dicofol in Appendix I of the POPs Regulation

Control measures will be implemented in Part A to prohibit the production, sale, and use of Diclofenac. Trichlorofenapyr, CAS

Number 115-32-2 is a widely used organochlorine insecticide with evidence indicating its effectiveness

Strong toxicity, belonging to persistent organic pollutants, can cause persistent damage to living organisms, especially aquatic organisms

hurt. The amendment will officially come into effect 20 days after its publication in the official gazette.

(EU) 2023/1608 adds perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) and its salts

On August 8, 2023, the European Commission published in its official bulletin a revised regulation (EU) 2023/1608 to the EU POPs Regulation (EU) 2019/1021, officially adding PFHxS, its salts, and related substances to the list of prohibited substances under the EU POPs Regulation. This regulation will come into effect on the 20th day after its publication in the official bulletin. Thus, the list of prohibited substances in Annex I of the EU POPs Regulation has officially increased from 28 to 29.

Common uses of PFHxS, its salts, and related substances

(1) Water based film forming foam (AFFF) for fire protection;

(2) Metal electroplating;

(3) Textiles, leather, and interior decoration;

(4) Polishing and cleaning agents;

(5) Coating, immersion/protection (used for moisture and mold prevention, etc.);

(6) In the field of electronics and semiconductor manufacturing.

In addition, other potential use categories may include insecticides, flame retardants, paper and packaging, petroleum industry, and hydraulic oils. PFHxS、 Its salts and PFHxS related compounds have been used in certain PFAS based consumer products.

EU 2024/2570 introduces new control measures for methoxychlor

On September 27, 2024, the European Commission published in its official bulletin the revised Regulation (EU) 2024/2570 of EU POPs Regulation (EU) 2019/1021. Formally increasing control over the new substance methoxychlor, the number of banned substances for POPs in the European Union has increased from 29 to 30. This regulation shall come into effect on the 20th day after its publication in the official gazette.

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