September 2026 Edition

ChemRegs Newsletter – September 2026

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published a summary of responses to its consultation on proposed amendments to the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Regulation.

POPs are substances that:

  • Persist in the environment
  • Accumulate in living organisms
  • Pose a risk to our health and the environment
  • Have the potential for long-range environmental transport

Defra have also published the government response to the consultation. The government response outlines Defra’s intended next steps, including its intention to implement proposed amendments to the POPs Regulation through a Statutory Instrument.

Many of these amendments will align with equivalent amendments that are already in force in the EU and NI.

Defra intends for the Statutory Instrument to be laid before Parliament in October 2026 and, subject to Parliamentary approval, the amendments to come into force in December 2026.

Stakeholders are encouraged to review the published response for further information.

View the summary of responses and Government Response on GOV.UK.

Additional information and guidance on POPs is available to view on Defra’s GOV.UK collection page

EU’s first classifications of substances as endocrine disrupting and persistent and mobile

The European Chemical Agency (ECHA)’s Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) has recommended the first classifications for substances using the new hazard classes for endocrine disruptors and persistent chemicals. These are part of the six new hazard classes that were introduced into the EU CLP Regulations in 2023.

RAC has recommended that resorcinol; 1,3-benzenediol (CAS 108-46-3, EC 203-585-2) should be classified as an endocrine disruptor (ED) for human health category 1 (ED HH 1, EUH380 ‘May cause endocrine disruption in humans’).

Resorcinol is used to manufacture rubber compounds, resins, plastics, coatings, wood products and cosmetics. It has been used for its keratolytic, antiseptic, and antipruritic effects in pharmaceuticals since the 19th century.

Propylparaben; propyl 4-hydroxybenzoate (CAS 94-13-3, EC 202-307-7) has been recommended by RAC for classification as an endocrine disruptor for the environment, Category 1 (ED ENV 1, EUH430 ‘May cause endocrine disruption in the environment’).

It is used in the manufacturing of cosmetic products and pharmaceutical preparations (ointments). It can enter water systems via wastewater and has been widely detected in the aquatic environment.

Also recommended by RAC is that trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) (CAS 76-05-1, EC 200-929-3) should be classified as Persistent, Mobile and Toxic (PMT, EUH450 ‘Can cause long-lasting and diffuse contamination of water resources’), and very Persistent and very mobile (vPvM, EUH451 ‘Can cause very long-lasting and diffuse contamination of water resources’).

TFA is a strong organic acid mainly used as a chemical reagent, solvent, and catalyst in laboratory and industrial synthesis. It belongs to the subclass of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are a large group of synthetic “forever chemicals” that resist breakdown in the environment and human bodies.

The RAC opinions (recommendations) are now available on the ECHA website and will be sent to the European Commission for decision making. The European Commission will work with EU Member State experts to prepare a legal text for the classification and labelling of the substances. The Commission will then notify EU Member States and the European Parliament of this legal text, and they then have a period for objection. One this period is over then the legal text is published in the EU Official Journal and becomes law. Once law, all manufacturers, importers and downstream users of the substances in the EU must classify the substance in accordance with the updated classification.

Updates to the GB PIC list

HSE, as the Designated National Authority (DNA) for the GB Prior Informed Consent (GB PIC) Regulation, is making some changes to the GB PIC list of chemicals that are subject to the requirements of the Regulation.

The GB PIC Regulation applies to those chemicals in the GB PIC list that are exported from GB including to European Union (EU) countries or moved from GB to Northern Ireland. The listed chemicals are those banned or severely restricted in GB. The PIC list also lists chemicals banned for export from GB.

It does not apply to chemicals used in drugs, radioactive materials, wastes, chemical weapons, food and food additives, feeding stuffs and medicinal products.

The GB PIC list has 5 parts which list the chemicals that are subject to the regulation. Chemicals listed in:

  • Part 1 are subject to the export notification procedure set out in Article 8;
  • Part 2 qualify for the PIC notification procedure under Article 14 and in addition to being subject to the export notification procedure additionally require the consent of the importing country before they can be exported;
  • Part 3 of the GB PIC list are also listed in Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention (www.pic.int) and in addition to being subject to the export notification procedure are subject to the PIC procedure in accordance with Article 14 of the convention;
  • Part 4 are persistent organic pollutants and are subject to an export ban;
  • Part 5 are chemicals other than persistent organic pollutants as listed in Annexes A and B of the Stockholm Convention that are already subject to an export ban.

The changes to the GB PIC list will ensure that decisions to list chemicals under the Rotterdam Convention’s PIC procedure for certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade are properly reflected. They will also ensure that decisions taken under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are reflected in the relevant part or parts of the list.

HSE is also updating that part of the GB PIC list which lists the chemicals and articles that are subject to an export ban under the GB Mercury Regulation.

Details of the updates to the GB PIC list can be found on the HSE website and include:

  • The addition of 5 chemicals to Part 3 of the GB PIC list to reflect their listing in Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention;
  • Additional text and 7 chemicals added to Part 4 of the GB PIC list to reflect their listing in Annexes A and B of the Stockholm Convention;
  • 11 chemicals and articles are added to Part 5 of the GB PIC list and are subject to a ban export under the GB Mercury Regulation, as amended.

The changes applied from 28 August 2026. Further updates to the other parts of the GB PIC list will be made at a later date.

The HSE website has more about the GB PIC Regulation.

This Newsletter contains public sector information published by the Health and Safety Executive and licensed under the Open Government Licence

For more information on anything in this Newsletter, please contact us at info@chemregs.co.uk

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