Stockholm Convention Eighth Conference of the Parties (COP) Listing of decabromodiphenyl ether (commercial mixture, c-decabde) November 10, 2016

Transcription

1 Stockholm Convention Eighth Conference of the Parties (COP) Listing of decabromodiphenyl ether (commercial mixture, c-decabde) November 10, 2016

2 Purpose To provide background and context on the Stockholm Convention and the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC) To inform you of the status of decabde under the Stockholm Convention To solicit information from you on the current uses and your efforts to phase out decabde To provide information on next steps in the planning process leading up to the eighth Conference of the Parties (COP) Page 2 November-7-16

3 Stockholm Convention The Stockholm Convention came into force in 2004 All major countries are signatories, except the United States (they participate as an observer) 178 countries, including Canada, are currently Parties There are currently 26 POPs listed to the Convention Canada has ratified 21 POPs Substances can be listed to the Stockholm Convention in: Annex A: eliminating the production, use, import, export, of the substance (may have specific exemptions); Annex B: restricting the production, use, import, export, of the substance (may have acceptable purposes and / or specific exemptions); and/or Annex C: taking measures to reduce total releases from unintentional production, with the goal of continuing minimization, and where feasible, ultimate elimination Page 3 November-7-16

4 Stockholm Convention (cont d) The objective of the Stockholm Convention is to protect human health and the environment from POPs POPs are organic chemicals that have a combination of harmful characteristics: they are persistent, bioaccumulative, toxic to the environment and/or health and are transported long distances, usually to the Arctic where they accumulate Canada has been an active participant to the Convention; sharing our science; and participating in the Conference of the Parties and subsidiary bodies, including the science body that evaluates POPs, called the POPs Review Committee (POPRC) The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the governing body of the Convention and meets every 2 years. Implementation of the Convention, including the listing of substances, is achieved through decisions taken at COPs. The eighth meeting of the COP (COP8) will take place in April 2017 The POPRC meets every year in September/October to advance technical discussions and make recommendations to the COP on issues such as the listing of substances to the Convention POPRC12 (Sept. 2016) COP8 (May 2017) POPRC13 (Oct. 2017) POPRC14 (Oct. 2018) COP9 (May 2019) Page 4 November-7-16

5 POPs Review Committee (POPRC) POPRC is the technical expert committee under the Stockholm Convention and is comprised of 31 independent members Undertakes review of proposals for listing chemicals Advisory role on scientific issues related to implementation of the Convention Makes recommendations for consideration by the COP COP makes final decisions, such as listing a chemical to the Convention and the inclusion of any acceptable purposes or specific exemptions Page 5 November-7-16

6 Stockholm Convention Chemical Listing Process Nomination POPRC (Sept/Oct Year 1) POPRC (Sept/Oct Year 2) POPRC (Sept/Oct Year 3) COP (May) A Party can nominate a chemical, at the latest, 3 months before the POPRC meeting Screening Proposal Evaluated against Annex D Criteria Risk Profile Evaluated against Annex E Criteria Risk Management Evaluation Evaluated against Annex F Criteria Chemical is proposed for listing The screening criteria determines if the chemical is persistent, bioaccumulates, has potential for long-range transport and has adverse effect on environment or health The purpose of the risk profile is to evaluate whether the chemical is likely, as a result of its long-range environmental transport, to lead to significant adverse human health and/or environmental effects, such that global action is warranted The purpose of the risk management evaluation is to analyze possible control measures for the chemical, encompassing the full range of options including management and elimination Page 6 November-7-16

7 DecaBDE Review Process under the Stockholm Convention Nomination POPRC-9 (Oct , 2013) POPRC-10 (Oct , 2014) POPRC-11 (Oct , 2015) POPRC-12 (Sept , 2016) COP-8 (April) June 6, 2013 Communication about nomination of decabde by Norway Screening Proposal Adopted Evaluated against Annex D Criteria Risk Profile Adopted Evaluated against Annex E Criteria Risk Management Evaluation Adopted Evaluated against Annex F Criteria Additional information Further defining critical spare parts (automotive and aerospace) and use in textile (developing countries) Chemical is proposed for listing Page 7 November-7-16

8 POPRC12 Decision - decabde Recommend listing decabde in Annex A to the Convention with specific exemptions for some critical spare parts for the automotive and aerospace industries Automotive replacement part categories recommended for exemption include: 1. Powertrain and under-hood applications 2. Fuel system applications 3. Pyrotechnical devices and applications affected by pyrotechnical devices Information from the aerospace industry did not allow the further defining of critical spare parts No apparent need for any exemption for textile production Noted that the increased waste burden in developing countries from older vehicles is a concern No challenges were raised in respect to decabde phase-out in other transportation sub-sectors Page 8 November-7-16

9 Canadian Status of decabde Phase-out Environmental Objective - reduce the concentrations of all PBDEs in the Canadian environment to the lowest level possible Risk Management Objective - prevent the introduction of their manufacture in Canada, their import into Canada and to minimize their releases into the environment from all sources in Canada. This includes restrictions on the importation of the PBDE substances and products manufactured or imported into Canada that contain PBDEs Since 2008 the manufacture of decabde and resins, polymers and mixtures that contain decabde has been prohibited Voluntary agreement with three large worldwide producers of decabde for the phaseout of decabde exports and sales to Canada for EEE by the end of 2010, for transportation and military uses by the end of 2013 and for all other uses by the end of 2012 As of December 23, 2016, the manufacture, use, sale, offer for sale and import of decabde and products that contain decabde will be prohibited in Canada with an exemption for manufactured items (Regulations Amending the Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations) Currently, manufactured items containing decabde are known to be used in some subsectors of the transportation sector Page 9 November-7-16

10 Global Status of decabde Phase-out DecaBDE currently produced by China, India and Japan Country Control US Voluntary phase out by US producers and importers US EPA design for the environment initiatives Several states have restrictions on the manufacture and/or use of decabde in certain applications Proposed federal rule expected by 2019 EU Ban on use in electrical and electronic equipment Proposed a restriction on the manufacture, use and placement on the market of decabde, and articles containing decabde in concentrations greater than 0.1% by weight Norway Prohibition on production, import, export, placing on the market and use of decabde in concentrations greater than 0.1% as substance, in preparations and in articles Includes exemption for use in transportation China Restriction on the use of decabde in electronic and electrical equipment in concentrations greater than 0.1% Prohibition on PBDEs in cars in concentrations greater than 0.1% South Korea End-of-life and restrictions on electronic products and vehicles Page 10 November-7-16

11 Sharing their experience and challenges in phasing out decabde ICL Industrial Products member of the Bromine Science and Environmental Forum (BSEF) Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association (CVMA) Page 11 November-7-16

12 COP8 - DecaBDE (April 2017) What is expected? Specific Exemptions (in general) Certain parties oppose exemptions due to continued release and exposure Some parties are opposed to exemptions due to waste considerations Aerospace exemption for all replacement parts Because no information was provided by industry it was not possible to prepare a list of parts Some POPRC members saw the lack of submissions as an indication that the sector no longer required an exemption, while others thought a broad exemption may be warranted Automotive exemption Starting point of the discussion will be the POPRC12 Recommendation Recycling exemption Some parties expressed the Page need 12 November-7-16 for a recycling exemption

13 What we need from you - DecaBDE To elaborate our position as we prepare for the COP, and to better understand the Canadian situation, we are seeking the following information 1. What is your experience in phasing-out decabde? a) Please describe the specific challenges you encountered and the alternatives chosen to phase-out decabde 2. If not already phased-out, a) Describe each manufactured item that contains decabde and its specific use b) Estimate the quantity of decabde contained in these manufactured items and provide a specific rationale as to why decabde is still needed c) What is the earliest year where a phase-out can be achieved in the manufacture and/or import of these manufactured items? d) Please describe the specific challenges (technical, socio-economic) you are facing or anticipate in achieving the phase-out, including any replacement parts 3. Explain why the Canadian situation is different from the POPRC recommendation a) Recognizing the global supply chains, please explain why the Canadian situation may be lagging behind other main jurisdictions, if this is the case (i.e.: Europe, Japan ) Please submit your comments to Chris Marshall at christopher.marshall@canada.ca by December 9, 2016 Page 13 November-7-16

14 Next Steps - DecaBDE December 9, 2016 Submit your comments to ECCC (see slide 13) February 2017 General Triple-COP stakeholder webinar April 2017 COP8 Page 14 November-7-16

15 Questions? Page 15 November-7-16