Labelling of products or articles that contain POPs-initial considerations

Scope

This document aims to provide some considerations on how to select and implement a national label system. It describes approaches to the labelling of POPs, whether as substances, mixtures or in articles, based on a range of voluntary or legally binding instruments.  The target audiences are policy makers responsible for developing regulations for the management of POPs and authorities involved in the collection of information on POPs.

Main target audience

National Stockholm Convention focal points, the project coordination unit implementing the NIP review and update project, the different task teams responsible for conducting inventories and developing action plans, officers in charge of registers of pesticides and/or industrial chemicals.

Latest version of the guidance ( revised draft March 2017)

Decision SC-7/10 requested the Secretariat to continue, subject to the availability of resources, to update the guidance listed in part B of the annex to that decision, as appropriate, on the basis of the comments received from Parties and others by 31 March 2016;
The Secretariat has revised the guidance document (July 2012 version) based on the comments received. The revised January 2017 version of the guidance on "Labelling of products or articles that contain POPs - initial consideration" is given below. The document is posted as a clean version, and a track changes version can be obtained on request from the Secretariat.

Review of the Guidance

The process for review of the guidance documents on the preparation, review and update and implementation of the NIP has been initiated by decision SC-6/12.
The decision requested the Secretariat, subject to the availability of resources, to facilitate the revision of the draft documents including "Labelling of production or article containing POPs- initial consideration" according to the procedure below:
- To invite detailed comments from parties by 30 September 2013;
- To integrate parties’ comments into the draft guidance by 31 March 2014;
- To circulate the draft guidance to parties for further comments by 31 October 2014.
(However due to lack of resources the guidance was not revised then). 

COP 7 by its decision SC-7/10 followed the same process of revising guidance documents and invited the Parties and others to provide comments to the draft guidance, based on their experience of using it, to be submitted to the Secretariat by prior to 31 March 2016. The list of comments received with the responses on this guidance is available here.

Previous version

Other relevant documents

Globally Harmonized Systemof Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) 

Supporting documents