Four Substances Under Consideration for Addition to the Stockholm Convention

The Persistent Organic Pollutant Committee (POPRC) is considering the addition of four substances to Annex A of the Convention:
Decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) (brominated flame retardant)
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) (non-sticking agent)
Short-chained chlorinated paraffins (plastic applications)
Dicofol (pesticide)

DecaBDE
Decabromodiphenyl ether, already subject to measures under the EU's REACH regulation, is being proposed to be added to Annex A of the Stockholm Convention for POPs. The EU recently brought in measures to regulate the Substance of Very High Concern (SVHC) chemical under Annex XVII of REACH, meaning the content of decaBDE in articles will be limited to 0.1%; the measures are being implemented in phases from March 2019 onwards.

Under POPs, recycling of the chemical would be heavily impacted and potentially impossible, as article 6 of the Stockholm Convention requires POPs to be destroyed once considered waste. Due to its presence in a lot of furniture within the UK, this could mean an increased amount of hazardous waste at end-of-life, reduced recycling of furniture and increased high temperature incineration.

PFOA
PFOA, a non-sticking agent also used in the production of fluoropolymers (e.g. PTFE), has also been proposed for addition to Annex A of the convention. PFOA's restriction under EU REACH regulation has already received backing from Member States after draft regulation set out in December 2016 was approved for limits of 25ppb of PFOA, or 1000ppb of one or more PFOA-related substances.

Short-chained chlorinated paraffins
Short chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) are chlorinated derivatives of n-alkanes, having carbon chain lengths ranging from 10 to 13 and 1-13 chlorine atoms. As well as lubricant and cooling uses in metal cutting, SCCPs are used as plasticisers and flame retardant in plastic articles. 

Dicofol
Dicofol is a pesticide chemically similar to DDT, used primarily as a miticide against the red spider mite. Under the World Health Organisation (WHO) it is classed as a Level II moderately hazardous pesticide.