(2)

At the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, held from 4 to 15 May 2015, it was agreed to include pentachlorophenol, its salts and esters (‘pentachlorophenol’) in Annex A to the Convention. At the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, held from 29 April to 10 May 2019, it was agreed to include dicofol as well as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and PFOA-related compounds in Annex A to the Convention. In view of those amendments to the Convention and to ensure that waste containing those substances is managed in accordance with the provisions of the Convention, it is necessary to also amend Annexes IV and V to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 by including pentachlorophenol, dicofol and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and PFOA-related compounds in the Annexes and indicating their corresponding concentration limits.

(2)

At the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, held from 4 to 15 May 2015, it was agreed to include pentachlorophenol, its salts and esters (‘pentachlorophenol’) in Annex A to the Convention. At the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, held from 29 April to 10 May 2019, it was agreed to include dicofol as well as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and PFOA-related compounds in Annex A to the Convention. In view of those amendments to the Convention and to ensure that waste containing those substances is managed in accordance with the provisions of the Convention, it is necessary to also amend Annexes IV and V to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 by including pentachlorophenol, dicofol and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and PFOA-related compounds in the Annexes and also  indicating their corresponding concentration limits.

(3)

Pentachlorophenol had been previously listed in Annexes IV and V to Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (23) by Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/636 (24), with an Annex IV value of 100 mg/kg and an Annex V value of 1 000  mg/kg. Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 was repealed by Regulation (EU) 2019/1021, but pentachlorophenol was unintentionally omitted from that Regulation. It is therefore necessary to amend Annexes IV and V to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 to include pentachlorophenol.

(3)

Pentachlorophenol had been previously listed in Annexes IV and V to Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (23) by Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/636 (24), with an Annex IV value of 100 mg/kg and an Annex V value of 1 000  mg/kg. Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 was repealed by Regulation (EU) 2019/1021, but pentachlorophenol was unintentionally omitted from that Regulation. It is therefore necessary to amend Annexes IV and V to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 to now  include pentachlorophenol.

(4)

Annexes IV and V to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 already contain concentration limits for the following substances or substance groups: a) the sum of the concentrations of tetrabromodiphenyl ether, pentabromodiphenyl ether, hexabromodiphenyl ether, heptabromodiphenyl ether and decabromodiphenyl ether (with the exception of the latter, which is not listed in Annex V to that Regulation); b) Hexabromocyclododecane; c) Alkanes C10-C13, chloro (short-chain chlorinated paraffins) (SCCPs); and d) Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/PCDF). Pursuant to Article 15(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1021, it is appropriate to amend the concentration limits in Annex IV for those substances to adapt their limit values to scientific and technical progress. To be consistent with the list of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) listed in Annex IV to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021, the substance decabromodiphenyl ether should be included among the PBDEs listed in the third column of Annex V to that Regulation.

(4)

Annexes IV and V to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 already contain concentration limits for the following substances or substance groups: a) the sum of the concentrations of tetrabromodiphenyl ether, pentabromodiphenyl ether, hexabromodiphenyl ether, heptabromodiphenyl ether and decabromodiphenyl ether (with the exception of the latter, which is not listed in Annex V to that Regulation); b) Hexabromocyclododecane; c) Alkanes C10-C13, chloro (short-chain chlorinated paraffins) (SCCPs); and d) Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/PCDF). Pursuant to Article 15(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1021, it is appropriate to amend the concentration limits in Annex IV for those substances to adapt their limit values according to scientific and technical progress. To be consistent with the list of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) listed in Annex IV to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021, the substance decabromodiphenyl ether should be included among the PBDEs listed in the third column of Annex V to that Regulation.

(5a)

Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), its salts and PFHxS-related compounds have been proposed by the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC) for listing under Annex A of the Convention without specific exemptions  (5a) after completing the risk profile and risk management evaluation for those substances. A decision to include PFHxS, its salts and PFHxS-related compounds is envisaged to take place in Stockholm Convention COP-10, which was initially scheduled in July 2021, and is now scheduled to take place in June 2022 as a result of the negative evolution in many European countries of the COVID-19 pandemic. With respect to the objectives of the Convention, it is therefore appropriate, based on the current impact assessment  (5b) and to ensure that waste containing those substances is managed in accordance with the provisions of the Convention, to already amend Annexes IV and V to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 by including perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), its salts and PFHxS-related compounds in the Annexes and indicating their corresponding concentration limits. The Commission should reflect those amendments to Annex IV and V in other Annexes of the Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 to ensure consistency.

(6)

The proposed concentration limits in Annexes IV and V to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 have been set applying the same methodology that was used to establish the concentration limits in previous amendments of Annexes IV and V to Regulation (EC) No 850/2004. The proposed concentration limits should achieve the objective of a high level of protection of human health and the environment associated to the destruction or irreversible transformation of the substances concerned. Those limits should also take into consideration the broader policy objective of achieving a climate-neutral and circular economy, enshrined in the European Green Deal (26).

(6)

The proposed concentration limits in Annexes IV and V to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 have been set applying the same methodology that was used to establish the concentration limits in previous amendments of Annexes IV and V to Regulation (EC) No 850/2004. The proposed concentration limits should be underpinned by the precautionary principle as set forth in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and aim to eliminate, where feasible, the release of POPs into the environment, in order to achieve the objective of a high level of protection of human health and the environment associated to the destruction or irreversible transformation of the substances concerned. Those limits should also take into consideration the broader policy objective of achieving the zero-pollution ambition for a toxic-free environment, increasing recycling, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, developing non-toxic material cycles where banned substances should not be reintroduced on the EU market through recycling activities, and a circular economy, enshrined in the European Green Deal (26).

(6a)

The concentration limits specified in Annexes IV and V to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 should be coherent and contribute to the implementation of the communication of the Commission of 14 October 2020 entitled ‘Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability — Towards a Toxic-Free Environment’ that proposes a comprehensive set of actions to address the use of and contamination with per- and polyfluoroalkoxy alkyl substances.

(6b)

To prevent mixing of contaminated waste with other waste or materials and to ensure better traceability and effective treatment of waste containing persistent organic pollutants, there is a need to avoid inconsistency between the provisions regarding waste which contains persistent organic pollutants originally set out in Regulation (EC) No 850/2004, now repealed by Regulation (EU) 2019/1021, and those set out thereafter. The Commission should therefore assess whether it is be appropriate to recognise that waste which contains any persistent organic pollutants exceeding the concentration limits specified in Annex IV to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 is to be classified as hazardous and put forward, if appropriate, a legislative proposal to amend Directive 2009/98/EC or Decision 2014/955/EU, or both, accordingly.