Switzerland Updates POP Chemicals Legislation

Switzerland has revised it national
legislation on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) with the transposing of
three ‘Decisions’ from the Stockholm Convention on POP chemicals.

Signed in 2001 and effective in 2004, the
Stockholm Convention is an international environmental treaty that aims to
eliminate or restrict the production and use of POPs. The goal is to protect
human health and the environment from chemicals that persist in the environment
for long periods.

RO 2020/3916 under Official Collection 121
of October 6, 2020 (POP Convention, RS
0.814.03) was published in October 2020. It transposes the following
three ‘Decisions’:

  1. Decision
    SC-9/4 ‘Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), its salts and perfluorooctane
    sulfonyl fluoride (PFOSF)’
  2. Decision
    SC-9/11 ‘Listing of dicofol’
  3. Decision
    SC-9/12 ‘Listing of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and PFOA-related
    compounds

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These will change Annexes A and B of the
POP Convention, RS 0.814.03, in several ways, including:

  • Dicofol
    added to Part I of Annex A (‘Elimination’) with no specific exemptions for its
    production and use
  • PFOA, its
    salts and PFOA-related compounds added to Part I on Annex A (‘Elimination’)
    with certain specific exemptions for their production and use
  • Entry for
    PFOS, its salts and PFOSF in Part I to Annex B (‘Restriction’) replaced with
    information on acceptable purposes and specific exemptions for their production
    and use

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The revisions are expected to come into
effect on December 3, 2020.

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