EU - Amendment on Annex I to POP Regulation (recast)

​The Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (the Convention) decided in the ninth meeting ​to amend the acceptable purpose for the use of PFOS, its salts and PFOSF for metal plating (hard metal plating) only in closed-loop systems to a specific exemption.
This has the effect that Parties are allowed to use that exemption for a maximum period of five years after the entry into force of that amendment. The exemption may be extended for additional five years following a decision by the Conference of the Parties upon request by a Party and based on a justification of the continuing need for that use.

Consequenty, the entry in Part A of Annex I to POP Regulation recast for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid and its derivatives (PFOS) is also amended to reflect the obligations under the Convention.

In Part A of Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021, in the entry for PFOS, in the fourth column ('Specific exemption on intermediate use or other specification'), point 4 is amended as follows:​

(1) the first paragraph is replaced by the following
4. If the quantity released into the environment is minimized, manufacturing and placing on the market shall be allowed until September 7, 2025, for use as mist suppressant for non-decorative hard chromium (VI) plating in closed loop systems. Provided that those Member States where PFOS is used report to the Commission by September 7, 2024, on progress made to eliminate PFOS and justify the continuing need for this use, the Commission shall review the need for a prolongation of the derogation for this use of PFOS for a maximum of five years by September 7, 2025.

(2) the third paragraph is deleted