The requirements for the management of persistent pollutants

Persistent organic pollutants

The Stockholm Convention, signed by countries on 22 May 2001 and entered into force in 2004, on persistent organic pollutants aims to protect human health, biodiversity, and the environment from the risks and hazards caused by persistent organic pollutants. POPs, short for persistent organic Pollutants, are toxic organic chemicals/chemical groups that are persistent in the environment with 4 main characteristics:

• High toxicity
• Difficult to decompose in the natural environment
• Ability to move and disperse far
• High bioaccumulation ability (accumulates in the fatty tissue of organic living organisms and are toxic to humans and animals)

Requirements on the management of persistent pollutants in Vietnam

To fulfill the responsibilities and obligations of a member state, according to the provisions of Article 7 of the Stockholm Convention, Vietnam is responsible for updating the National Plan for implementing the Stockholm Convention. Therefore, the Prime Minister issued Decision 1598/QD-TTg dated October 17, 2017 on the "National Plan for the implementation of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants until 2025, with a vision to 2030".

According to Clause 1, Article 69 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020, the requirements for environmental protection in the management of persistent pollutants and Decree 08/2022 are as follows:

According to the Stockholm Convention, environmental protection in the management of POPs and raw materials, fuels, materials, products, goods, and equipment containing persistent pollutants.

Environmental protection requirements in the management of POPs and raw materials, fuels, materials, products, goods, and equipment containing persistent pollutants are prescribed as follows:

• The source of generation must be controlled and information must be disclosed, labeled, conformity assessed, and inspected for POPs and raw materials, fuels, materials, products, goods, and equipment containing persistent pollutants according to the provisions of law;
• POPs and raw materials, fuels, materials, products, goods and equipment containing persistent pollutants exceeding the maximum permissible limits prescribed by law are allowed to be recycled and destroyed, provided that the recycling and destruction does not result in the recovery of these substances for reuse and must ensure environmental protection requirements;
• POPs and raw materials, fuels, materials, products, goods and equipment containing persistent pollutants exceeding the maximum permissible limits must be stored, recovered, managed and treated to meet environmental protection requirements as prescribed, except in cases where they have been recycled or destroyed as prescribed in Point c of this Clause;

Environmental monitoring of persistent organic pollutants at Eurofins Environment Testing in Vietnam

Eurofins Environment Testing in Vietnam's strong position in monitoring persistent organic pollutants (including POPs / PFAS / PFOA) enables customers to obtain a unique and comprehensive service, including:

• Exceptionally high sensitivity and accuracy, safer data and higher quality thanks to large investments in R&D over the past decade and a highly experienced team.
• Ability to ensure fast analysis times of 7-10 days.
• Key features of the quality of the service provided include: State-of-the-art high-resolution mass spectrometry systems; Use of certified standards and reference materials; Regular and successful participation in external proficiency testing and interlaboratory testing; Research and develop your own method.