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Annex A

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ELIMINATION

Part I

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Expanded polystyrene and extruded polystyrene in buildings in accordance with the provisions of Part VII of this Annex

Part I

Notes:

(i)       Except as otherwise specified in this Convention, quantities of a chemical occurring as unintentional trace contaminants in products and articles shall not be considered to be listed in this Annex;

(ii)      This note shall not be considered as a production and use acceptable purpose or specific exemption for purposes of paragraph 2 of Article 3.  Quantities of a chemical occurring as constituents of articles manufactured or already in use before or on the date of entry into force of the relevant obligation with respect to that chemical, shall not be considered as listed in this Annex, provided that a Party has notified the Secretariat that a particular type of article remains in use within that Party.  The Secretariat shall make such notifications publicly available;

(iii)     This note shall not be considered as a production and use specific exemption for purposes of paragraph 2 of Article 3.  Given that no significant quantities of the chemical are expected to reach humans and the environment during the production and use of a closed-system site-limited intermediate, a Party, upon notification to the Secretariat, may allow the production and use of quantities of a chemical listed in this Annex as a closed-system site-limited intermediate that is chemically transformed in the manufacture of other chemicals that, taking into consideration the criteria in paragraph 1 of Annex D, do not exhibit the characteristics of persistent organic pollutants.  This notification shall include information on total production and use of such chemical or a reasonable estimate of such information and information regarding the nature of the closed-system site-limited process including the amount of any non-transformed and unintentional trace contamination of the persistent organic pollutant-starting material in the final product.  This procedure applies except as otherwise specified in this Annex.  The Secretariat shall make such notifications available to the Conference of the Parties and to the public.  Such production or use shall not be considered a production or use specific exemption.  Such production and use shall cease after a ten-year period, unless the Party concerned submits a new notification to the Secretariat, in which case the period will be extended for an additional ten years unless the Conference of the Parties, after a review of the production and use decides otherwise.  The notification procedure can be repeated;

(iv)     All the specific exemptions in this Annex may be exercised by Parties that have registered in respect of them in accordance with Article 4.

Part II

DDT (1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane)

1.       The production and use of DDT shall be eliminated except for Parties that have notified the Secretariat of their intention to produce and/or use it.  A DDT Register is hereby established and shall be available to the public.  The Secretariat shall maintain the DDT Register.

2.       Each Party that produces and/or uses DDT shall restrict such production and/or use for disease vector control in accordance with the World Health Organization recommendations and guidelines on the use of DDT and when locally safe, effective and affordable alternatives are not available to the Party in question.

3.       In the event that a Party not listed in the DDT Register determines that it requires DDT for disease vector control, it shall notify the Secretariat as soon as possible in order to have its name added forthwith to the DDT Register.  It shall at the same time notify the World Health Organization.

4.       Every three years, each Party that uses DDT shall provide to the Secretariat and the World Health Organization information on the amount used, the conditions of such use and its relevance to that Party’s disease management strategy, in a format to be decided by the Conference of the Parties in consultation with the World Health Organization.

5.       With the goal of reducing and ultimately eliminating the use of DDT, the Conference of the Parties shall encourage:

(a)        Each Party using DDT to develop and implement an action plan as part of the implementation plan specified in Article 7.  That action plan shall include:

(i)      Development of regulatory and other mechanisms to ensure that DDT use is restricted to disease vector control;

(ii)      Implementation of suitable alternative products, methods and strategies, including resistance management strategies to ensure the continuing effectiveness of these alternatives;

(iii)     Measures to strengthen health care and to reduce the incidence of the disease.

(b)          The Parties, within their capabilities, to promote research and development of safe alternative chemical and non-chemical products, methods and strategies for Parties using DDT, relevant to the conditions of those countries and with the goal of decreasing the human and economic burden of disease.  Factors to be promoted when considering alternatives or combinations of alternatives shall include the human health risks and environmental implications of such alternatives.  Viable alternatives to DDT shall pose less risk to human health and the environment, be suitable for disease control based on conditions in the Parties in question and be supported with monitoring data.

6.         Commencing at its first meeting, and at least every three years thereafter, the Conference of the Parties shall, in consultation with the World Health Organization, evaluate the continued need for DDT for disease vector control on the basis of available scientific, technical, environmental and economic information, including:

(a)     The production and use of DDT and the conditions set out in paragraph 2;

(b)     The availability, suitability and implementation of the alternatives to DDT; and

(c)     Progress in strengthening the capacity of countries to transfer safely to reliance on such alternatives.

7.       A Party may, at any time, withdraw its name from the DDT Registry upon written notification to the Secretariat.  The withdrawal shall take effect on the date specified in the notification.

Part III

Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, its salts, and perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride

1.       The production and use of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), its salts and perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride (PFOSF) shall be eliminated by all Parties except as provided in Part I of this Annex for Parties that have notified the Secretariat of their intention to produce and/or use them for acceptable purposes. A Register of Acceptable Purposes is hereby established and shall be available to the public. The Secretariat shall maintain the Register of Acceptable Purposes. In the event that a Party not listed in the Register determines that it requires the use of PFOS, its salts or PFOSF for the acceptable purposes listed in Part I of this Annex it shall notify the Secretariat as soon as possible in order to have its name added forthwith to the Register.

2.       Parties that produce and/or use these chemicals shall take into account, as appropriate, guidance such as that given in the relevant parts of the general guidance on best available techniques and best environmental practices given in Part V of Annex C of the Convention.

3.       Every four years, each Party that uses and/or produces these chemicals shall report on progress made to eliminate PFOS, its salts and PFOSF and submit information on such progress to the Conference of the Parties pursuant to and in the process of reporting under Article 15 of the Convention.

4.       With the goal of reducing and ultimately eliminating the production and/or use of these chemicals, the Conference of the Parties shall encourage:

(a)        Each Party using these chemicals to take action to phase out uses when suitable alternatives substances or methods are available;

(b)          Each Party using and/or producing these chemicals to develop and implement an action plan as part of the implementation plan specified in Article 7 of the Convention;

(c)          The Parties, within their capabilities, to promote research on and development of safe alternative chemical and non-chemical products and processes, methods and strategies for Parties using these chemicals, relevant to the conditions of those Parties. Factors to be promoted when considering alternatives or combinations of alternatives shall include the human health risks and environmental implications of such alternatives.

5.       The Conference of the Parties shall evaluate the continued need for these chemicals for the various acceptable purposes and specific exemptions on the basis of available scientific, technical, environmental and economic information, including:

(a)          Information provided in the reports described in paragraph 3;

(b)          Information on the production and use of these chemicals;

(c)          Information on the availability, suitability and implementation of alternatives to these chemicals;

(d)          Information on progress in building the capacity of countries to transfer safely to reliance on such alternatives.

6.       The evaluation referred to in the preceding paragraph shall take place no later than in 2015 and every four years thereafter, in conjunction with a regular meeting of the Conference of the Parties.

7.       Due to the complexity of the use and the many sectors of society involved in the use of these chemicals, there might be other uses of these chemicals of which countries are not presently aware. Parties which become aware of other uses are encouraged to inform the Secretariat as soon as possible.

8.       A Party may, at any time, withdraw its name from the Register of acceptable purposes upon written notification to the Secretariat. The withdrawal shall take effect on the date specified in the notification.

9.       The provisions of note (iii) of Part I of Annex B shall not apply to these chemicals.

[1] Please note that, as at 17 May 2009, there were no Parties registered for the specific exemptions listed in Annex B pertaining to DDT. Therefore, in accordance with paragraph 9 of Article 4 of the Conventions, no new registrations may be made with respect to such exemptions, which appear in grey text in the table.

Part I

Persistent organic pollutants subject to the requirements of Article 5

This Annex applies to the following persistent organic pollutants when formed and released unintentionally from anthropogenic sources:

Part II

Source categories

Hexachlorobenzene, pentachlorobenzene, polychlorinated biphenyls, and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans are unintentionally formed and released from thermal processes involving organic matter and chlorine as a result of incomplete combustion or chemical reactions. The following industrial source categories have the potential for comparatively high formation and release of these chemicals to the environment:

(a)     Waste incinerators, including co-incinerators of municipal, hazardous or medical waste or of sewage sludge;

(b)     Cement kilns firing hazardous waste;

(c)     Production of pulp using elemental chlorine or chemicals generating elemental chlorine for bleaching;

(d)     The following thermal processes in the metallurgical industry:

(i)      Secondary copper production;

(ii)     Sinter plants in the iron and steel industry;

(iii)     Secondary aluminium production;

(iv)    Secondary zinc production.

Part III

Source categories

Hexachlorobenzene, pentachlorobenzene, polychlorinated biphenyls, and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans may also be unintentionally formed and released from the following source categories, including: