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Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are a group of organic chemicals that remain stable over long periods of time and are toxic to humans, animals and the environment. The term POPs is attributed to those specific organic chemicals that have been designated and listed as POPs under the Listing of POPs in the Stockholm Convention.
Some POPs were made for particular uses - these are known as intentional POPs, for example:
Other POPs are released into the environment from burning fossil fuels or waste -these are known as unintentional POPs, for example:
People are mainly exposed to POPs through food. POPs which are released into the environment can enter the food chain when they are deposited on soil or through our rivers, lakes and seas. Therefore, it is important to prevent the release of POPs into the environment in order to prevent damage to the environment and protect human health.
Under the UN Stockholm Convention on POPs each participating country must take administrative and legislative actions to prevent the environmental impacts of POPs. The requirements of the Stockholm Convention are enacted into EU law by Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 and into Irish law by S.I. No. 146 of 2020. The Republic of Ireland signed up to the Stockholm Convention in 2010 and under Article 7 of the Convention, is required to develop and regularly update a National Implementation Plan on POPs as new POPs are restricted or banned.
The EPA, as the competent authority, reviewed and updated the National Implementation Plan on POPs in 2018, in consultation with a number of public authorities, national stakeholders and the public. It includes an assessment of POPs in Ireland and details an Action Plan of measures to be carried out to support the control of POPs.
As part of the POP’s Action Plan, the EPA are investigating the risks posed by certain POPs to human health and the environment in the Irish context including PFAS in fire-fighting foams, POPs in landfill leachate and PCBs in building materials. Further details on these studies are available through the links provided below.
The EPA is currently reviewing and updating the National Implementation Plan on POPs and a draft will be published for public consultation later in 2024.
Ireland's National Implementation Plan on POP's
POPs currently restricted or banned under the Stockholm Convention
EPA report on PFAS in fire-fighting foams
EPA report on PFAS and BFR monitoring at fire-training sites
EPA report on PCBs in building materials
EPA report on POPs and other hazardous chemicals in landfill leachate
European Chemicals Agency POPs information
EU POPs Regulation 2019/1021 (consolidated version)
Protecting health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants | EUR-Lex (europa.eu)
Irish POPs Regulations S.I. No. 146/2020
Dioxins in the Environment Survey based on levels in Cows’ Milk
Organisation roles under the Irish POPs Regulations
For any queries relating to POPs, please email pops@epa.ie.
|
POP substance/substance group (year banned or restricted) |
Uses |
|---|---|
|
Perfluoroalkyl- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and its derivatives (2010) Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and PFOA-related compounds (2020) Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), its salts and PFHxS-related compounds (2022) |
Fire-fighting foams, textile, carpet & leather protection, industrial & household cleaning products, non-stick coatings, photo imaging, photolithography & semiconductors, hard-chrome plating (aerospace industry), hydraulic fluids for the aviation industry, paper & packaging, medical devices, paints and inks. |
|
Brominated flame retardants (BFRs): Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) - Tetra, Penta, Hexa, Hepta (2010) & Deca BDEs (2019) Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) (2013) Hexabromobiphenyl (HBB, 2010) |
Electrical and electronic equipment (Plastics used in housings of computers and TVs, wires and cables and pipes), construction materials (e.g. insulation), textiles and polyurethane foam (furniture padding), upholstery, window blinds, curtains, mattresses, tentage and interior fabrics in cars, rail passenger rolling stock and aircraft, adhesives, sealants and inks. |
| Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs, 2004) | Heat exchange fluids, in electric transformers and capacitors and as additives in paint, carbonless copy paper and plastics. |
| Polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs, 2015) | Insulating material for electrical wires, mothproofing, as rubber and plastic additives, for capacitor dielectrics and in lubricants. |
| Pentachlorobenzene (PeCB, 2009) | Used in PCB products to reduce viscosity, in dyestuff carriers, as a fungicide, a flame retardant and as a chemical intermediate |
| Hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD, 2019) | Solvent for other chlorine compounds |
| Pentachlorophenol and its salt and esters (PCP, 2015) | Remedial treatment of timber, surface biocide for masonry and preservative treatment for textiles, oil-based paint, glues and adhesives. |
| Short chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs, 2019) | Used as a plasticizer in rubber, paints, adhesives, flame retardants for plastics and an extreme pressure lubricant and coolant in metal working fluids. |
| Hexachlorobenzene (HCB), 1981) | Unintentionally formed and released from thermal processes involving organic matter and chlorine as a result of incomplete combustion or chemical reactions. |
| Hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD, 2015/2017) | |
| Pentachlorobenzene (PeCB, 2009) | |
| Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs, 2004) | |
| Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (dioxins) & dibenzofurans (furans) (2010) | |
| Polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs, 2015) | |
| UV-328 (2023) | Used as a UV absorber to protect surfaces against discoloration and degradation under UV/sunlight. Main uses are in paints and coatings, and as an additive in a wide variety of plastics. |
| Pesticide (year banned or restricted) | Note |
|---|---|
| Aldrin (1998) | |
| Chlordane (1992) | |
| Chlordecone (1992) | |
| Dechlorane plus (2023) | |
| Dicofol (2019) | |
| Dieldrin (1981) | |
| Endrin (1981) | |
| Heptachlor (1981) | |
| Hexachlorobenzene (HCB, 1981) | Impurity in Chlorothalonil (fungicide) |
| Alpha & beta hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH, 1981) | |
| Lindane (1981) | |
| Mirex | Never authorised for use in IE but has been detected in IE environment |
| Methoxychlor (2023) | |
| Pentachlorophenol and its salt and esters (PCP, 2015) | |
| Technical endosulfan and its related isomers (2005) | |
| Toxaphene (1985) | |
| DDT (1985) |
Where POPs are present in waste above a certain limit, such waste is classified as POPs waste and requires managing in such a way that will destroy the POP content of the waste. POPs waste should not be recovered, re-used or recycled. The current POPs waste limits for each POP substance are set out in the table below.
|
POP Substance |
POP Waste Limit1 |
Notes: |
|---|---|---|
|
Industrial POPs |
||
|
Hexabromobiphenyl (HBB) |
50 mg/kg |
|
|
Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) |
500 mg/kg |
EU Commission will review this concentration limit and, where appropriate, adopt a legislative value to lower the limit to a value that is not higher than 200 mg/kg, no later than 30 December 2027. |
|
Hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD) |
100 mg/kg |
|
|
Pentachlorobenzene (PeCB) |
50 mg/kg |
|
|
Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), its salts and PFHxS-related compounds |
1 mg/kg (PFHxS and its salts) 40 mg/kg (sum of PFHxS-related compounds) |
EU Commission will review this concentration limit and, where appropriate, adopt a legislative proposal to lower the limit (if feasible in accordance with scientific and technical progress) by 30 December 2027. |
|
Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and its derivatives |
50 mg/kg |
|
|
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and PFOA-related compounds |
1 mg/kg (PFOA and its salts) 40 mg/kg (sum of PFOA-related compounds) |
EU Commission will review this concentration limit and, where appropriate, adopt a legislative proposal to lower the limit (if feasible in accordance with scientific and technical progress) by 30 December 2027. |
|
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) - Tetra, Penta, Hexa, Hepta; & Decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) |
500 mg/kg (sum of tetra-, penta-, hexa-, hepta- and deca- BDE's) (until 29 December 2025) |
350 mg/kg from 30 December 2025 until 29 December 2027. 200 mg/kg from 30 December 2027. |
|
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) |
50 mg/kg |
The calculation method laid down in European standards EN 12766-1 and EN 12766-2 shall apply |
|
Polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) |
10 mg/kg |
|
|
Short chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) |
1,500 mg/kg |
EU Commission will review this concentration limit and, where appropriate, adopt a legislative proposal to lower the limit, by 30 December 2027. |
|
Pesticide POPs |
||
|
Aldrin |
50 mg/kg |
|
|
Alpha & beta hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), including Lindane |
50 mg/kg |
|
|
Chlordane |
50 mg/kg |
|
|
Chlordecone |
50 mg/kg |
|
|
DDT |
50 mg/kg |
|
|
Dicofol |
50 mg/kg |
|
|
Dieldrin |
50 mg/kg |
|
|
Endrin |
50 mg/kg |
|
|
Heptachlor |
50 mg/kg |
|
|
Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) |
50 mg/kg |
|
|
Mirex |
50 mg/kg |
|
|
Pentachlorophenol and its salt and esters (PCP) |
100 mg/kg |
|
|
Technical endosulfan and its related isomers |
50 mg/kg |
|
|
Toxaphene |
50 mg/kg |
|
|
Unintentional - POPs |
||
|
Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (dioxins) & dibenzofurans (furans) |
5 µg/kg |
This limit is calculated as the sum of PCDD, PCDF and dl-PCBs according to the toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) set out in Part 2, in the third paragraph, in the table, of Annex V of the EU POPs Regulation 2019/1021). EU Commission will review this concentration limit and, where appropriate, adopt a legislative proposal to lower the limit, (where such lowering is feasible in accordance with scientific and technical progress) by 30 December 2027. |
1 POPs Waste limit are set out in Annex IV of Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on persistent organic pollutants.
The EPA has published guidelines for the identification and proper management of hazardous fractions (including POP waste) in construction and demolition waste.
