Tech Watch: New persistent organic pollutant substances in UK
On 11 March 2025, the UK POPs Regulation was amended by the Persistent Organic Pollutants (Amendment) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/296) and The Persistent Organic Pollutants (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/297).
These regulations amend provisions in Annex 1 to the UK POPs Regulation as follows:
- Adding Dechlorane Plus and UV-328
- Adding Methoxychlor (already included in EU POP Regulation and aligned with it)
- Amending the entries for Hexachlorobenzene, Pentachlorophenol and Perfluorooctanoic acid (aligned with EU POP Regulation)
This is to follow the decision at the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention, where Dechlorane Plus and UV-328 were added in Annex A to the Convention with certain specific exemptions in May 2023.
The amendments enter into force on 1 April 2025.
The requirements for Dechlorane Plus and UV-328 under UK POP Regulation are as follows:
|
Substance |
UK requirements under Annex I of UK POP Regulation (*) |
Some common uses |
|
UV-328 |
≤ 10 mg/kg |
UV absorber used in paints, coatings , sealants, printing inks ,adhesives, resigns, plastics, and vehicles. |
|
Dechlorane plus |
≤ 10 mg/kg |
Polychlorinated flame retardant used in plastic products, textiles , adhesives, cables, motor vehicles, medical devices, E&E equipment, electronic devices, machinery, aerospace and defence. |
(*) Allowed uses/exemptions not included in this table.
Regarding Dechlorane Plus and UV-328, at this moment, these are not included in EU POP Regulation yet. In the EU, the European Commission held public consultations on these substances to add them in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2019/1021. The public consultations are closed and it is expected that the Commission will adopt them soon.