Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/2291 of 8 September 2022 amending Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 of the European Parliament and of the Council on persistent organic pollutants, as regards hexachlorobenzene (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2022-09-08
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: dangerous substance, environmental protection, international convention, market approval, organic chemical, organic pollution, pollution control measures, protocol to an agreement, public health, waste management








L_2022303EN.01001901.xml










23.11.2022   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


L 303/19








            COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2022/2291
of 8 September 2022
         
amending Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 of the European Parliament and of the Council on persistent organic pollutants, as regards hexachlorobenzene
(Text with EEA relevance)


THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,


Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on persistent organic pollutants (1), and in particular Article 15(1) thereof,

Whereas:







(1)


Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 implements the commitments of the Union under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (2) and under the Protocol on Persistent Organic Pollutants to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (3).












(2)


Pursuant to Article 3(1) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1021, the manufacturing, placing on the market and use, whether on their own, in mixtures or in articles, of substances listed in Annex I to that Regulation are prohibited, subject to Article 4 of that Regulation.












(3)


Hexachlorobenzene is listed in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 without an Unintentional Trace Contaminant (UTC) limit value.












(4)


Article 15(1) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts to modify existing entries of Annex I to adapt them to scientific and technical progress.












(5)


The Commission has determined the presence of hexachlorobenzene as an impurity in some substances, mixtures and articles, including pesticides, chlorinated solvents, inks, coatings, paints and toners, wood application, textile application and plastics.












(6)


In order to clarify the legal situation and facilitate enforcement as regards the use of substances, mixtures or articles containing hexachlorobenzene as an unintentional trace contaminant, a UTC limit of 10 mg/kg (0,001 % by weight) should be set for hexachlorobenzene.












(7)


Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 should therefore be amended accordingly,





HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:



Article 1
Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.


Article 2
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.




This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 8 September 2022.


For the Commission


The President

Ursula VON DER LEYEN
            





(1)  
            OJ L 169, 25.6.2019, p. 45.

(2)  
            OJ L 209, 31.7.2006, p. 3.

(3)  
            OJ L 81, 19.3.2004, p. 37.




ANNEX
In Part A of Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021, in the fourth column (‘Specific exemption on intermediate use or other specification’) of the entry for hexachlorobenzene, the following text is added:


            ‘For the purposes of this entry, Article 4(1), point (b), shall apply to concentrations of hexachlorobenzene equal to or below 10 mg/kg (0,001 % by weight) where it is present in substances, mixtures or articles.’.