ORGANIC POLLUTANTS (8257/06)
Letter from Lord Bach, Minister for Sustainable
Farming and Food, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
to the Chairman
I am writing to inform you of an issue which
is to come before the Agriculture and Fisheries Council on 25
April 2006 as an A item (no discussion). This concerns an uncontroversial
Council Decision concerning a Proposal, on behalf of the European
Community and the Member States, for amendments to Annexes A-C
of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.
An Explanatory Memorandum was prepared and submitted
on 18 April 2006 but unfortunately it was not possible to obtain
scrutiny clearance from the Lords European Select Committee ahead
of the meeting.
The Proposal will nominate pentachlorobenzene,
octabromodiphenyl ether and short-chained chlorinated paraffin
chemicals for international controls under the Stockholm Convention.
Previous risk assessments of these chemicals have shown them to
exhibit characteristics of persistent organic pollutants and the
production, placing on the market and use of these substances
has already ceased or has been severely restricted in the Community.
Scrutiny clearance has previously been agreed
for a Council Decision to nominate these substances for addition
to the relevant annexes of the 1979 UNECE Convention on Long Range
Transboundary Air Pollution on Persistent Organic Pollutants.
The additional nomination of these substances to the Stockholm
Convention will have no impact in the UK.
It is unfortunate that scrutiny could not be
completed in time for Council but I wish to inform your Committee
of the Government's intention to proceed and to support the Council
Decision in order to seek international controls on the production,
use and disposal of these hazardous substances.
21 April 2006
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