Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution on Persistent Organic Pollutants

 

Article 1
Definitions

For the purposes of the present Protocol,

1. “Convention”means the Convention on Long-range Transboundary
Air Pollution, adopted in Geneva on 13 November 1979;

2. “EMEP”means the Cooperative Programme for Monitoring and
Evaluation of the Long-range Transmission of Air Pollutants in
Europe;

3. “Executive Body” means the Executive Body for the
Convention constituted under article 10, paragraph 1, of the
Convention;

4. “Commission”means the United Nations Economic Commission for
Europe;

5. “Parties”means, unless the context otherwise requires, the
Parties to the present Protocol;

6. “Geographical scope of EMEP”means the area defined in
article 1, paragraph 4, of the Protocol to the 1979 Convention on
Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution on Long-term Financing of
the Cooperative Programme for Monitoring and Evaluation of the
Long-range Transmission of Air Pollutants in Europe (EMEP), adopted
in Geneva on 28 September 1984;

7. “Persistent organic pollutants”(POPs) are organic substances
that: (i)possess toxic characteristics;
(ii) are persistent;
(iii) bioaccumulate;
(iv) are prone to long-range transboundary atmospheric
or environmental effects near to and distant from their sources;

8. “Substance”means a single chemical species, or a number
of chemical species which form a specific group by virtue
of (a) having similar properties and being emitted together
into the environment; or (b) forming a mixture normally marketed
as a single article;

9. “Emission”means the release of a substance from a point or
diffuse source into the atmosphere;

10. “Stationary source”means any fixed building, structure,
facility, installation, or equipment that emits or may emit
any persistent organic pollutant directly or indirectly into
the atmosphere;

11. “Major stationary source category” means any stationary
source category listed in annex VIII;

12. “New stationary source”means any stationary source of which
the construction or substantial modification is commenced after
the expiry of two years from the date of entry into force
of:
(i) this Protocol; or
(ii) an amendment to annex III or VIII, where the
stationary source becomes subject to the provisions of this
Protocol only by virtue of that amendment. It shall be a matter for
the competent national authorities to decide whether a modification
is substantial or not, taking into account such factors as
the environmental benefits of the modification.

Article 2
Objective

The objective of the present Protocol is to control, reduce
or eliminate discharges, emissions and losses of persistent
organic pollutants.

Article 3
Basic Obligations

1. Except where specifically exempted in accordance with article 4,
each Party shall take effective measures:

(a) To eliminate the production and use of the substances listed
in annex I in accordance with the implementation requirements
specified therein;

(b) (i) To ensure that, when the substances listed in annex I
are destroyed or disposed of, such destruction or disposal is
undertaken in an environmentally sound manner, taking into
account relevant subregional, regional and global regimes governing
the management of hazardous wastes and their disposal, in particular
the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements
of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal;

(ii) To endeavour to ensure that the disposal of substances
listed in annex I is carried out domestically, taking into
account pertinent environmental considerations;

(iii) To ensure that the transboundary movement of the
substances listed in annex I is conducted in an environmentally
sound manner, taking into consideration applicable
subregional, regional, and global regimes governing the
transboundary movement of hazardous wastes, in particular the
Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of
Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal;

(c) To restrict the substances listed in annex II to the
uses described, in accordance with the implementation
requirements specified therein.

2. The requirements specified in paragraph 1 (b) above shall
become effective for each substance upon the date that production or
use of that substance is eliminated, whichever is later.

3. For substances listed in annex I, II, or III, each Party
should develop appropriate strategies for identifying articles still
in use and wastes containing such substances, and shall take
appropriate measures to ensure that such wastes and such articles,
upon becoming wastes, are destroyed or disposed of in an
environmentally sound manner.

4. For the purposes of paragraphs 1 to 3 above, the terms
waste, disposal, and environmentally sound shall be interpreted in
a manner consistent with the use of those terms under the
Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of
Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal.

5. Each Party shall:

(a) Reduce its total annual emissions of each of the
substances listed in annex III from the level of the emission in
a reference year set in accordance with that annex by taking
effective measures, appropriate in its particular
circumstances;

(b) No later than the timescales specified in annex VI,
apply:

(i) The best available techniques, taking into consideration
annex V, to each new stationary source within a major stationary
source category for which annex V identifies best available
techniques;

(ii) Limit values at least as stringent as those specified in
annex VI to each new stationary source within a category mentioned
in that annex, taking into consideration annex V. A Party may, as
an alternative, apply different emission reduction strategies
that achieve equivalent overall emission levels;

(iii) The best available techniques, taking into consideration
annex V, to each existing stationary source within a major
stationary source category for which annex V identifies best
available techniques, insofar as this is technically and
economically feasible. A Party may, as an alternative, apply
different emission reduction strategies that achieve equivalent
overall emission reductions;

(iv) Limit values at least as stringent as those specified in annex
IV to each existing stationary source within a category mentioned
in that annex, insofar as this is technically and economically
feasible, taking into consideration annex V. A Party may, as
an alternative, apply different emission reduction strategies
that achieve equivalent overall emission reductions;

(v) Effective measures to control emissions from mobile sources,
taking into consideration annex VII.

6. In the case of residential combustion sources, the obligations
set out in paragraph 5 (b) (i) and (iii) above shall refer to
all stationary sources in that category taken together.

7. Where a Party, after the application of paragraph 5 (b) above,
cannot achieve the requirements of paragraph 5 (a) above for a
substance specified in annex III, it shall be exempted from
ts obligations in paragraph 5 (a) above for that substance.

8. Each Party shall develop and maintain emission inventories for
the substances listed in annex III, and shall collect
available information relating to the production and sales of
the substances listed in annexes I and II, for those Parties within
the geographical scope of EMEP, using, as a minimum, the
methodologies and the spatial and temporal resolution specified by
the Steering Body of EMEP, and, for those Parties outside
the geographical scope of EMEP, using as guidance the
methodologies developed through the work plan of the Executive Body.
It shall report this information in accordance with the
reporting requirements set out in article 9 below.

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Atmosphere and Space conventions, Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution on Persistent Organic Pollutants 2, Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution on Persistent Organic Pollutants 3, Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution on Persistent Organic Pollutants 4, Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, Conventions: Chronological Index 1971-1990, International Conventions from 1991, Other Environmental conventions.