By MoE Notice No. 2024-571, South Korea’s Ministry of Environment (MoE) invited the public to comment on the proposed updates to the Regulations on Persistent Organic Pollutants Classification and Specific Exemptions (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations). Comments are welcome before September 23, 2024.
South Korea ratified the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in 2007. To fulfill the obligations under this international convention, South Korea enacted the Persistent Organic Pollutants Control Act (a.k.a. POPs Control Act) in the same year, which came into force in January 2008. From 2008 to June 2023, the POPs Control Act has been revised several times. In accordance with this act, the MoE promulgated the Regulations in September 2020 to provide a specific control list of POPs (Annex 1) for better governance. The last revision to this Regulations was made in June 2023 to clarify the exemption criteria (Annex 2), which also took the POPs control measures under the Minamata Convention into consideration. The proposal this time focuses on the updates to Annex 1 and 2 to the Regulations.
Detailed identification of controlled POPs
Under the Stockholm Convention, POPs are listed in Annex A (Elimination), Annex B (Restriction), and Annex C (Unintentional production) for different control. Annex 1 of the Regulations lists POPs that have been identified under this convention. The proposed updates this time detail the chemical names and CAS numbers of some POPs that were previously referred to as general terms or omitted in this control list.
Notably, for substances listed in Annexes A or B of the Stockholm Convention, when present as unintentional trace impurities in products or produced during manufacturing processes, will not be classified as POPs in South Korea. However, if a mixture of short-chain chlorinated paraffins exceeds a weight percentage of 1%, it will still be regarded as a POP.
Clarification of specific exemptions
Annex 2 of the Regulations clarifies the specific uses eligible for exemptions from prohibitions and restrictions on the production, import, export, and use of controlled POPs. Considering factors such as socioeconomic impacts and effects on the environment and human health to ensure safe management, the MoE reassessed alternative substances based on specific exemptions. The proposed updates this time further detail the exemption criteria and deadlines for controlled POPs, reinforcing the country's commitment to environmental protection and public health.
Effective Date
The proposed updates are expected to be in effect immediately upon official publication. Notably, the provisions related to perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) and its salts, listed in Annex 1 as item 2022-31 (targeting 147 substances), will be implemented once the proposal of listing them in Annex A is adopted at the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention. Similarly, the matters concerning the Minamata Convention in Annex 2 will take effect following the amendments to Annexes A and B from the 5th Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention.
The organizations, groups, or individuals are encouraged to engaged into the revision process. The public consultation period lasts from September 4 to 23.
More details on the draft revisions to Annex 1 and 2 of the Regulations can be accessed here.
