REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS on the application of Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 on persistent organic pollutants
Date: 2021-03-09
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: dangerous substance, environmental protection, market approval, organic chemical, organic pollution, pollution control measures, public health, stock, transfrontier pollution, waste management

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 9.3.2021 COM(2021) 109 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS on the application of Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 on persistent organic pollutants {SWD(2021) 53 final}  
 
 
Table of contents 

Table of contents .................................................................................................................... 1 

1. 

Introduction ................................................................................................................ 2 

Management and Control Measures .......................................................................... 3 
2. 
Overview .................................................................................................................... 3 
2.1 
Production, placing on the market, use, export and enforcement penalties ............... 3 
2.2 
2.3 
Stockpiles ................................................................................................................... 3 
2.4  Waste Management and Storage ................................................................................ 4 

3. 

4. 

5. 

Environmental Releases and Environmental Concentrations .................................... 4 

Activities to promote knowledge exchange ............................................................. 10 

Conclusions .............................................................................................................. 11 

Table 1: Emissions reduction for PCBs by the Member States ............................................. 6 

Figure 1: EMEP Monitoring Maps for Europe ...................................................................... 9 

1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1. 

Introduction 

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are chemicals of global concern due to their persistent, 
bioaccumulative  and  toxic  (PBT)  properties  and  their  potential  to  undergo  long  range 
transport, which leads  to their deposition and accumulation far from  the point of production 
and use. Two international treaties address POPs and aim at protecting human health and the 
environment from their adverse impacts by eliminating or reducing their production, use and 
releases  in  the  environment.  The  Aarhus  Protocol  on  Persistent  Organic  Pollutants  was 
adopted  in  1998  as  part  of  the  UNECE  Convention  on  Long-range  Transboundary  Air 
Pollution (CLRTAP) and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, adopted 
in 2001, entered into force in 2004. 

The European Union is a Party to the Aarhus Protocol and to the Stockholm Convention and 
adopted Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 
April  2004  on  persistent  organic  pollutants  and  amending  Directive  79/117/EEC  (POPs 
Regulation)  in  order  to  implement  the  Convention.  Regulation  (EC)  No  850/2004  has  been 
repealed and replaced by Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 on persistent organic pollutants. 

The  POPs  Regulation  is  regularly  updated  to  transpose  amendments  to  the  Convention  and 
Protocol  (largely  addition  of  new  substances  to  the  respective  annexes)  and  places  specific 
obligations  on  all  EU  Member  States.  These  obligations  include  details  regarding  the 
production, placing on the market, and use of listed POPs covered by three Annexes (Annex I 
–  banned,  Annex  II  –  restricted,  Annex  III  –  unintentionally  released).  It  also  covers  the 
management of those substances within stockpiles, environmental releases and monitoring of 
environmental concentrations, as well as containing provisions for waste management. As part 
of  the  POPs  Regulation  it  is  also  a  requirement  for  Member  States  to  draw  up  national 
implementation  plans  and  action  plans  to  identify  and  manage  sources  of  POPs  within  their 
own territories.  

The  reporting  requirements  for  Member  States  and  the  European  Commission  under 
Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 were described in Article 12. Member States were required to 
report annually on statistical data for the production and placing on the market of Annex I and 
Annex  II  substances.  Member  States  were  also  required  to  report  to  the  Commission  every 
three years on the implementation of the provisions of the POPs Regulation. The Commission 
had the obligation to draw up a synthesis report every three years summarising the information 
provided  by  the  Member  States  as  well  as  supporting  information  provided  through  the 
European  Pollutant  Release  and  Transfer  Register  (E-PRTR)  and  CORINAIR  emission 
inventories  under  EMEP  (Cooperative  Programme  for  Monitoring  and  Evaluation  of  the 
Long-Range Transmission of Air Pollutants in Europe). The Commission was also required to 
forward a summary of that synthesis to the European Parliament and to the Council. 

To  date  two  synthesis  reports  were  published  covering  the  activities  of  the  Union  and  its 
Member  States  under  Regulation  (EC)  No  850/2004.  The  first  synthesis  report  covers  the 
period from the entry into force of the POPs Regulation in 2004 until 2006 and was published 
in 2009. The second synthesis report, published in 2011, covers the period 2007 – 2009. This 
Commission Report summarises the third synthesis report covering the period 2010-2013. 

2 

 
 
2.  Management and Control Measures 

2.1  Overview 

The management of POPs substances covers multiple elements of the life cycle of a substance. 
Specifically this would include the production, placing on the market, and use of chemicals; as 
well  as  the  stockpiles  of  obsolete  goods,  waste  management  issues  and  enforcement  of  the 
regulation itself. 

2.2 

Production, placing on the market, use, export and enforcement 

According to the reports provided by the Member States, enforcement of the POPs Regulation 
is the task of environmental agencies or inspectorates who manage this through an inspection 
and reporting regime. Two Member States reported the production of Annex I or II substances 
for  the  period  2010-2013  in  line  with  specific  exemptions  or  acceptable  purposes  under  the 
POP  Regulation.  Germany  reported  that  around  9  tonnes  of  PFOS  were  manufactured  per 
annum. However, in 2013 most of this (5.8 tonnes per annum) was exported outside the EU, 
with the largest receivers being the USA (2 tonnes) and countries and territories in East and 
South  East  Asia  (South  Korea,  Singapore,  Taiwan  and  Hong  Kong).  Additionally,  Croatia 
reported the production of short-chain chlorinated paraffins in 2010, 2011 and 2012.  
In terms of placing on the market, a small number of Member States made use of the Article 4 
provisions  for  use  of  POPs  substances  in  research  and  development.  A  number  of  Member 
States  also  made  use  of  the  possibility  of  placing  on  the  market  of  PFOS,  using  the 
exemptions under Annex II. This was largely for use in the chrome metal plating industry as a 
mist suppressant. 
Four  Member  States  (Germany,  France,  Austria,  United  Kingdom)  stated  that  quantities  of 
POPs substances were exported from the EU, which was dominated by the export of 5,800 kg 
PFOS  per  annum  from  Germany  to  12  countries.  Lindane  was  exported  from  the  United 
Kingdom  to  South  Korea.  In  addition,  some  chemicals  were  exported  for  use  as  laboratory 
reference material:  aldrin  was  exported from Austria to  North Macedonia, and aldrin,  DDT, 
dieldrin and lindane to Belize, and DDT from France to USA. 
Five  Member  States  (Bulgaria,  Lithuania,  Netherlands,  Sweden,  United  Kingdom)  launched 
infringement proceedings for the illegal sale of POPs substances. This included the presence 
of HCB in fireworks, and the presence of SCCPs in children’s toys. 

2.3 

Stockpiles 

Stockpiles of POPs substances typically related to three types of goods, namely PCBs or PCB-
contaminated  di-electric  equipment,  obsolete  pesticides  and  stockpiles  of  phase-out  goods 
covered  by  the  addition  of  substances  to  the  POPs  Regulation  since  2009.  Many  Member 
States had already taken significant  steps to identify and remove PCB-containing equipment 
from service in the past, but this was an ongoing process and six Member States (Germany, 
Ireland,  France,  Romania,  Slovenia,  United  Kingdom)  reported  that  use  of  PCB-containing 
equipment was still occurring in the period 2010-2013. For obsolete pesticides, a number of 
Member States reported that they either never produced or used pesticide POPs substances or 
began early phase-out, meaning that stocks no longer existed within the country by 2010. 
Other  Member  States  noted  that,  while  large  quantities  of  obsolete  pesticides  were  still 
present,  programmes  of  management  or  destruction  were  in  place  to  handle  them.  Final 
disposal of obsolete pesticides includes incineration either within a Member State or through 
export to facilities in neighbouring Member States. Bulgaria exported a significant quantity of 
obsolete pesticides to Germany for final destruction through incineration. A second option is 

3 

 
 
to  rely  on  long-term  storage.  In  particular  Bulgaria  used  B-B  cubes,  which  are  reinforced-
concrete  containers  used  to  hold  highly  toxic  waste,  removing  the  risk  of  loss  to  the 
environment.  
Germany,  Ireland and the United Kingdom  report  stockpiles of PFOS  and PBDE-containing 
goods  for  final  destruction.  The  German  National  Implementation  Plan  also  includes 
comments on the quantities of PBDEs likely to be found within end of life vehicles and the 
need to remove and dispose of these goods suitably, avoiding recycling. 

2.4  Waste Management and Storage 

The  information  reported  by  the  Member  States  highlight  the  issue  of  contaminated  land. 
Whilst a good proportion of Member States have enacted programmes to gather, stockpile and 
destroy  obsolete  pesticides,  a  further  issue  is  posed  by  contaminated  land,  particularly  land 
close  to  sites  of  former  manufacture  of  those  substances.  Data  from  the  Netherlands  and 
Finland  show  the  potentially  high  number  of  sites  that  may  be  contaminated.  The  typical 
remediation steps involve excavation, which in turn generates large quantities of contaminated 
soil that has to be treated as hazardous waste.  

3. 

Environmental Releases and Environmental Concentrations 

Article 6(1) of the POPs Regulation places an obligation upon the Member States to develop 
inventories of emissions to air, land and water for those substances listed in Annex III within 2 
years of the regulation entering into force. Emission inventories form a key resource to inform 
policy  makers  during  the  development  of  national  implementation  plans.  In  particular,  they 
help  to  identify  key  sources  for  emissions  reduction  or  areas  of  uncertainty,  where  further 
research is needed to help characterise a source. 

Nine Member States (Bulgaria, Czechia, France, Lithuania, Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia, 
Sweden,  United  Kingdom)  provided  emission  estimate  data  as  part  of  the  reporting, 
highlighting  major  data  gaps  within  the  available  data  set  provided.  To  supplement  the  data 
sets reported, data from the EMEP WebDab website1 was used to get a more complete picture. 
The  EMEP  WebDab  data  include  the  emissions  reported  to  the  UNECE  under  the  Aarhus 
Protocol for the period 2010-2012. Additionally, data submitted to the Stockholm Convention 
as part of the second round of reporting (31st October 2010) was also used to supplement the 
information gathered. Comparison was also made against data from the E-PRTR website and 
with  environmental  monitoring  data  from  EMEP  MSC-E  and  Arctic  Monitoring  and 
Assessment Programme (AMAP) to corroborate emission trends. 

Based  on  the  data  available,  26  out  of  28  Member  States  have  developed  and  reported 
estimates  of  emissions  for  dioxins  and  furans,  PAHs,  and  HCB,  and  24  out  of  28  Member 
States  have  developed  and  reported  emission  estimates  for  PCBs.  Greece  and  Luxembourg 
were the only Member States that did not report emission estimate data on any of the Annex 
III substances through the UNECE or under the Article 12 reporting to the POPs regulation for 
2010-2013.  In  all  cases,  the  data  developed  and  reported  largely  relates  to  emissions  to  air, 
with only a small number of Member States deriving and reporting estimates of emissions to 
vectors other than air, although the regulation requires estimates for air, land and water. 

1 http://www.ceip.at/ 

4 

 
 
 
 
                                           
Dioxins and Furans 

Dioxins  and  furans  are  not  commercially  produced  and  are  typically  associated  with  either 
incomplete combustion processes such as open burning, or with metallurgy. The major source 
sector  identified  for  Europe  was  residential  use  of  solid  fuels,  accounting  for  38%  of  all 
emissions. By comparison, the energy generation sector made up 5% and combustion of fuels 
for  heat  and  power  in  industry  made  up  18%.  While  the  power  generation  sector  consumes 
large  quantities  of  solid  fossil  fuels,  the  high  operating  temperature  and  advanced  levels  of 
abatement  brought  in  by  the  industrial  emissions  Directive2  means  that  the  emissions  per 
tonne of coal is much lower than that from residential sources. Aside from residential use of 
fuels, the other major source was iron and steel industry (15%), the E-PRTR data corroborates 
the conclusion that iron and steel facilities are the single largest point source for emissions of 
dioxins and furans. 

The review of data over the 2010-2012 period demonstrates that the emission of dioxins and 
furans  in  the  majority  of  Member  States  was  on  a  declining  trend.  Comparison  to  1990 
emission levels showed an emission reduction across the EU of 45% between 1990 and 2012 
(please see also figure 1). The average per capita emissions of dioxins and furans were 5.5 µg 
I-TEQ / person / year in 2012. 

Where estimates for vectors other than air have been provided by Member States, there was 
general  agreement  that  emissions  to  air  were  broadly  matched  by  emissions  to  residue3.  Air 
emissions  abatement  and  process  design  has  improved  since  the  advent  of  the  waste 
incineration directive, and emissions of dioxins and furans to air from industry have dropped 
significantly between 1990-2012. However this leads to the generation of air pollution control 
residues, sometimes called fly ash, which can be heavily contaminated with pollutants such as 
dioxins and furans. Care is  required with  interpretation  of the data, as emissions to air, land 
and water are direct releases lost to the environment in an uncontrolled fashion. On the other 
hand, residue refers to the contaminated solid waste generated, which is typically disposed of 
in a controlled fashion and does not necessarily constitute a total loss to environment. 

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) 

PCBs  were  commercially  used  within  a  variety  of  applications,  in  particular  di-electric 
equipment. Their high chemical stability and persistence made them ideal heat-transfer fluids 
for this application. PCBs can also be produced through unintentional pathways, particularly 
combustion. The main source of emissions was from dielectric equipment, contributing 32% 
of all emissions to air. However, of the 25 national inventories submitted to the UNECE under 
CLRTAP, only four (Ireland, Croatia, Hungary, United Kingdom) include estimates for PCB 
emissions, which shows a major gap. Other major sources included domestic combustion of 
fuel of fossil fuels (21%) and metallurgy (16%). 

The  atmospheric  emission  trend  for  the  2010-2012  period  largely  indicated  declining 
emissions. In comparison to the 1990 levels, emissions declined by about 50% across the EU 
in 2012 (Table 1). The average per capita emissions were 13 mg/person/year in 2012. Figure 1 
provides maps of the available ambient monitoring data from EMEP/MSC-E in both 1990 and 
in 2012, as a means of comparison to the inventory estimates. Both the EMEP data for Europe 
in Figure 1 and Arctic monitoring by AMAP indicate a clear decline in ambient atmospheric 
concentrations and emissions since 1990.  

2  Directive  2010/75/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  24  November  2010  on  industrial 
emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control). OJ L 337, 17.12.2010, p. 17. 
3  Under  the  Stockholm  Convention  ‘residue’  is  assumed  to  constitute  a  waste  contaminated  by  POPs  which  is 
disposed  of  in  a  controlled  manner,  it  differs  from  ‘land’  which  is  a  direct  uncontrolled  release  of  material  to 
land. 

5 

 
 
                                           
Limited  data  is  available  on  the  emission  of  PCBs  to  vectors  other  than  air.  Based  on  the 
Article  12  reports  of  five  Member  States  (Czechia,  France,  Netherlands,  Sweden,  United 
Kingdom) plus additional data provided by Spain to the Stockholm Convention that provided 
estimates  for  other  vectors,  no  clear  pattern  was  evident.  Different  Member  States  highlight 
the importance of water, land and waste residue to different extents. 

Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) 

PAHs  are  a  family  of  chemicals  that  can  form  naturally  in  the  environment  from  the 
combustion  of  vegetation  such  as  forest  fires,  but  which  also  have  anthropogenic  sources, 
particularly linked to the combustion of fossil fuels. The data show that the dominant source 
of  PAH  emissions  was  the  use  of  domestic  fuels,  particularly  coal,  making  up  57%  of  all 
emissions.  

The  data  for  2010-2012  show  a  decline  in  emissions.  The  average  annual  emissions  were 
estimated to be 37% lower in 2012 compared to 1990. This reduction is smaller than that seen 
for dioxins and furans and PCBs, which was corroborated by the environmental monitoring by 
EMEP.  The  monitoring  data  from  EMEP  indicates  a  40%  decline  in  airborne  PAH 
concentrations  since 1990, compared to  declines  of 60% for PCBs and 85% for dioxins  and 
furans. 

Limited data is available for other vectors beyond air for PAHs. However, based on the four 
Member States (Czechia, France, Netherlands, United Kingdom) that provided data, water and 
residue are also key emission vectors for PAHs.  

Table 1: Emissions reduction for PCBs by the Member States 

Member State 

Emission to air 
1990 
Kg 

Emission to air 
2012 
Kg 

Proportion of 2012 
emission compared 
to 1990 baseline 

Belgium 

Bulgaria 

Czechia 

Denmark 

Germany 

Estonia 

Ireland 

Greece 

Spain 

France 

Croatia 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Latvia 

112 

6 

773 

111 

1672 

10 

68 

- 

24 

182 

486 

286 

0.01 

4 

10 

5 

34 

42 

236 

10 

17 

- 

29 

58 

433 

217 

0.01 

1 

6 

9% 

83% 

4% 

38% 

14% 

100% 

25% 

- 

121% 

32% 

89% 

76% 

100% 

25% 

 
 
Lithuania 

Luxembourg 

Hungary 

Malta 

Netherlands 

Austria 

Poland 

Portugal 

Romania 

Slovenia 

Slovakia 

Finland 

Sweden 

6 

73 

37 

- 

- 

- 

2425 

65 

135 

417 

67 

314 

0.1 

United Kingdom 

6645 

300 

NR 

16 

- 

- 

- 

735 

868 

53 

53 

34 

154 

0.05 

727 

5000% 

- 

43% 

- 

- 

- 

30% 

1335% 

39% 

13% 

51% 

49% 

50% 

11% 

Comparison  to  the  E-PRTR  suggested  that  the  key  source  of  PAH  emissions  to  water  was 
petroleum  refinery  processes,  while  combustion  wastes,  metallurgic  wastes  and  auto  repair 
waste were all important sources for residue. 

Chlorobenzenes (hexachlorobenzene and pentachlorobenzene) 

Hexachlorobenzene  (HCB)  was  listed  in  Annex  III  at  the  time  of  adoption  of  the  POPs 
regulation, and pentachlorobenzene (PeCB) was added to Annex I and III of the regulation in 
2010  following  its  addition  to  the  Stockholm  Convention.  Both  HCB  and  PeCB  were 
commercially used as pesticides, but are also created as a by-product of industrial processes, 
particularly  the  manufacture  of  chloro-organic  solvents.  PeCB  was  also  used  to  reduce  the 
viscosity  of  PCBs  in  dielectric  equipment.  Both  HCB  and  PeCB  can  also  be  produced  as  a 
product of combustion of solid fossil fuels, waste oils and waste material. 

Estimates for PeCB were provided by only three Member States (France, Netherlands, United 
Kingdom). The Netherlands reported emissions of PeCB in 1990 as 0.8 kg with an increasing 
emission  trend  reaching  annual  releases  of  2.3  kg  in  2012.  The  United  Kingdom  provided 
estimates  of  emissions  to  air  for  PeCB  in  2009  -2011  of  broadly  35  Kg  per  annum.  France 
provided a limited data set of PeCB emissions from sewage treatment. 

The HCB data submitted for air illustrated that 75% of all emissions came from metallurgy, 
although the data in this respect was heavily dominated by emissions from one Member State 
(Spain). Other sources included agriculture (6%), energy generation (5%), waste incineration 
(5%) and residential combustion of fuels (4%). The review of Member States’ emissions for 
the period 2010-2012 indicated no clear patterns, with emissions, rising, falling and remaining 
static across the EU. Comparisons with 1990 levels however did illustrate a decline of annual 
emissions  across  the  EU  of  54%  by  2012.  EMEP  monitoring  across  Europe  indicated  more 

7 

 
 
 
 
 
significant  decrease  in  airborne  concentrations  of  HCB,  which  had  dropped  by  85%  since 
1990.  This  was  not  confirmed  by  AMAP  monitoring  of  Arctic  air  with  only  a  very  minor 
decline in airborne concentrations of HCB over the Arctic area. 

Very  limited  data  is  available  for  estimates  of  emissions  to  non-air  vectors,  with  only  three 
Member States (Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom) providing such information in their 
reports. Additionally, Belgium provided further data under the Stockholm Convention. Based 
on the available data, water and residue are the second most significant emission vectors after 
air. 

UNECE review of POPs emission inventories (2012) 
A 2012 review4 of all POPs emission inventories submitted to the UNECE was carried out on 
behalf of the Centre for Emission Inventories and projections (CEIP). This review identified 
major and minor sources for each POP. Comparison was then made to the reported emission 
inventories  to  check  what  major  sources  were  missing;  what  the  major  source  was  in  each 
inventory for each POP; and other consistency checks.  

The  CEIP  review  highlighted  significant  inconsistencies  between  inventories  across  the 
UNECE with  a lack of transparency in  estimates derived  and further need for clarity on the 
emission  factors  and  estimates  in  use.  The  review  indicated  that  the  dioxins  and  furans  and 
PAHs inventories had the greatest completeness and consistency, whilst PCBs and HCB had 
greater data issues.  

Only  four  Member  States  (Croatia,  Hungary,  Ireland,  United  Kingdom)  made  estimates  for 
PCBs  relating  to  the  use  of  di-electric  equipment,  which  is  the  biggest  commercial  use  of 
PCBs. For HCB it was  noted that 6 Member States (Belgium, Cyprus,  Ireland, Netherlands, 
Portugal, Sweden) out of the 28 that reported to the UNECE had inventories of HCB made up 
of three or fewer sources. Given the potential for HCB to be generated through combustion, 
this can indicate poorly developed inventories. 

4 Mareckova et al, 2012, ‘Inventory Review 2012 - Review of POP emission inventories’, report by the Centre for 
Emission Inventories and Projections (CEIP) 

8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
Figure 1: EMEP Monitoring Maps for Europe 

(Diagram a presents 1990 and diagram b presents 2012 air concentrations) 

Dioxins and Furans 

Polychlorinated Biphenyls 

9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
    
 
 
 
 
 
4. 

Activities to promote knowledge exchange 

Only 17 Member States (Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Germany, Finland, 
France,  Hungary,  Ireland,  Lithuania,  Netherlands,  Poland,  Romania,  Slovenia,  Sweden, 
United  Kingdom)  provided  full  triennial  reports,  compared  to  22  Member  States  that 
responded in time for the second synthesis report. Four Member States did not provide any 
annual or triennial report for the current reporting period. This has made it impossible to 
get a complete picture of the activities of Member States concerning knowledge exchange, 
public involvement and awareness. 

All  of  those  that  provided  data  indicated  that  systems  had  been  put  in  place  to  allow 
knowledge  exchange  and  dissemination  of  information.  Three  Member  States  (Bulgaria, 
Slovenia, United Kingdom) commented that they made use of their knowledge exchange 
networks to fully engage with stakeholders in the development of national implementation 
plans  to  ensure  that  industry,  academia,  non-government  organisations  and  the  general 
public were involved and had the opportunity to contribute to the work. 

The  European  Union  and  twelve  Member  States  (Belgium,  Czechia,  Germany,  Finland, 
France, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom) provided 
either financial or technical support for the work on elimination of POPs during the 2010-
2013  period.  This  has  largely  been  through  organised  schemes  such  as  the  Global 
Environment Facility (GEF) or the voluntary trust fund of the Stockholm Convention.  

Alongside  support  to  global  schemes,  many  Member  States  also  informed  on  national 
initiatives that had been carried out, which included: 

funding of research programmes for work on waste POPs in Africa; 
funding of Arctic monitoring research programmes; 

  hosting workshops and conferences for international experts; 
 
 
  bi-lateral communication and knowledge-building with non-EU countries; and 
 
research programmes on the presence of POPs in Eastern European States. 

Member States also commented on work to build awareness and engage with the general 
public.  Activities  to  promote  awareness  of  the  issues  surrounding  POPs  had  been  put  in 
place using a number of initiatives such as: 

  production of information to be disseminated to the general public; 
  workshops and seminars for stakeholders organisations; 
  public awareness campaigns and questionnaires to seek feedback from the general 

public. 

10 

 
 
 
5. 

Conclusions 

The third synthesis report covers all required aspects of the initial POPs Regulation (EC) 
No 850/2004 and its implementation in the Union and at Member State level. This section 
draws some conclusions about the work done and the progress made to eliminate POPs in 
the Union.  

Production, placing on the market and use 

The POP  Regulation prohibits  the production, placing on the market  and use of POPs  in 
the Union. Only very few exemptions are granted by the Regulation, mainly for production 
and  use  of  PFOS.  The  only  Member  State  that  still  produced  PFOS  during  the  reporting 
period was Germany. About 35% of the produced quantity of around 9 tonnes per annum 
were  used  in  the  country  and  65%  were  shipped  to  other  countries,  mainly  countries 
outside the EU.  

Emissions 

In  general,  the  regulatory  measures  established  by  and  implemented  through  the  POPs 
Regulation  show  the  expected  effects  since  emissions  of  chemicals  listed  in  the  POPs 
Regulation are declining in the Union.  

For dioxins and furans, the data demonstrate that the atmospheric emissions were reduced 
by 45% between 1990  and 2012 across the EU.  For PCBs, emissions were overall about 
50%  lower  in  2012  as  compared  to  1990.  The  average  annual  emissions  of  PAHs  were 
estimated to be 37% lower in 2012 compared to 1990. Emission estimates for HCB from 
1990  to  2012  illustrated  a  decline  of  annual  emissions  of  54%  by  2012.  These  data  are 
corroborated  by  EMEP  emission  estimates,  which  show  in  general  a  more  important 
decline during the same period. 

However, this general trend was not observed in all Member States, where in some cases 
emissions increased. This shows that further efforts are needed to achieve the objective of 
zero emissions (see Table 1). 

The  emission  estimates  data  submitted  by  Member  States  showed  a  high  degree  of 
heterogeneity,  which  made  it  very  difficult  to  aggregate  and  compare  the  data  amongst 
Member  States  and  at  regional  or  global  level.  A  better  harmonisation  of  data  formats 
would  be  very  useful  and  improve  the  value  of  submitted  data.  Under  the  new  POPs 
Regulation  (EU)  2019/1021,  the  heterogeneity  of  data  will  be  addressed  by  using  a 
common template for reporting. 

Monitoring 

The POPs monitoring data from EMEP and AMAP and corresponding data generated by 
models  confirm  the  trends  observed  for  emission  estimates.  All  data  sources  indicated  a 
declining trend in ambient air concentrations over the period 1990 to 2012 across Europe. 
In  general,  equivalent  results  were  obtained  at  global  level,  which  indicates  that  the 
Stockholm  Convention  achieves  its  objectives.  However,  it  should  be  noted  that  the  vast 
majority of data reflects the situation for air, whereas very little information is available for 
water and soil. In order to get a more complete picture, it is necessary to invest more in the 
generation of data for these two media. 

11 

 
 
Stockpiles and waste 

Stockpiles  of  POPs  or  products  that  contain  POPs  already  manufactured  but  no  longer 
permitted for use have to be managed as waste. Provisions on waste management include 
that  any  contamination  of  waste  by  POPs  shall  be  avoided  and  that  POPs  contained  in 
waste shall be destroyed. 

The  waste  management  was  a  challenge  of  diverging  importance  for  Member  States  and 
depending on the nature of the waste. In particular the presence of POPs in products that 
are  suitable  and  interesting  for  recycling  is  becoming  an  increasing  issue  for  waste 
management since recycling of POPs is forbidden by the Stockholm Convention. 

Contaminated sites 

The  POPs  Regulation  covers  management  of  wastes  contaminated  with  POPs,  which  is 
closely linked with a potential contamination of land, if the waste is not properly managed. 
There  is  in  particular  a  potential  problem  of  soil  contamination  where  POPs  were 
previously  manufactured  and  used.  A  number  of  Member  States  already  addressed  this 
issue  in  their  national  implementation  plans,  but  further  efforts  are  needed  to  identify, 
inventory  and  remediate  contaminated  sites,  including  a  better  coordination  and 
cooperation  at  Union  level.  To  improve  the  exchange  of  information  on  measures  that 
target  contaminated  sites,  the  new  POPs  Regulation  (EU)  2019/1021  requests  Member 
States and the Commission to exchange information to that effect. 

Data quality and coherence 

The emission inventory estimates illustrate that there are potential issues between different 
estimates  from  different  Member  States  that  make  a  comparison  very  difficult  or  even 
impossible.  One  important  problem  is  that  Member  States  do  not  follow  harmonised 
approaches  in  data  gathering  and  reporting.  In  addition,  there  is  indication  of  a  high 
variability in completeness of data which probably leads to underreporting by many but not 
all  Member  States.  Greater  support  and  communication  amongst  Member  States  would 
help addressing some of these issues. The sections on knowledge exchange and technical 
support  highlighted  that  many  initiatives  are  underway  but  Member  States  are  mostly 
working in isolation, making the impact of their activities less significant. 

Bi-lateral initiatives (communication and knowledge building between Member States and 
with  non-EU  countries)  may  be  helpful,  in  particular  for  additional  support,  review  and 
benchmarking  of  emission  inventory  estimates.  The  systematic  use  of  the  Information 
Platform for Chemical Monitoring (IPCHEM) for the storage, processing and management 
of  POPs  monitoring  data  stipulated  in  the  new  POPs  Regulation  (EU)  2019/1021  is 
expected to improve the quality and coherence of such data. 

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