POPs

Development of Testing Techniques for rapidly screening the presence of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in manufactured products and in surface water Objective Develop Machine Learning-assisted material analysis techniques to rapidly screen the presence of emerging pollutants (persistent organic pollutants (POPs) (eg. PCBs, PCNs, SCCPs, PFOS, PFOA), and Phthalates Esters (PAE) in media of interest Policy recommendation on managinghazardous chemical Funding Agency NSTDA(government budget) Project Duration August 2018 to December 2020 The project developed multiple techniques to rapidly detect the presence of emerging pollutants namely PCBs, PCNs, SCCPs, PFOS, PFOA, and Phthalates Esters (PAEs)) in EOL plastics, neat oils, waste oils, chlorinated paints and sealants, and PFAS in surface water. Using the newly developed test methods, the project found wide spread of PAEs and chlorinated paraffins (CPs) used in soft plastics and paints, trace of PFAS in surface water, and evidence of plastics containing legacy additives being recycled into new products. A series of trainings were organized to raise public awareness on chemicals in products and to disseminate knowledge about good practice to manage substances of very high concerns (SVHC) in products and to communicate SVHC information to customers along supply chain to industrial firms in EEE and automotive industry.

The Enabling Activities to Review and Update the National Implementation Plan for the Stockholm Convention on POPs Objective Setup/review coordination mechanism and raise awareness Inventories of 15 new POPs and review ofinitial 12 POPs National capacities assessment and prioritysetting for management of new POPs NIP formulation, endorsement, and submissions Funding Agency United Nations Industrial DevelopmentOrganization (UNIDO) Project Duration April 2018 to March 2020 Thailand ratified the Stockholm Convention (SC) on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) on 31 January 2005. The Convention initially included 12 chemical substances or groups of substances listed in 3 Annexes; Annex A for elimination, Annex B for restriction, and Annex C for the reduction of the unintentional production. Initially, there were 9 substances listed in Annex A, one substance (DDT) in Annex B, and 4 substances listed in Annex C. The Conference of Parties (COPs) of the SC has gradually added new POPs into the lists. As of 2019, the SC has 1ุ6 more POPs substances: 15 substances to Annex A and 1 substance to Annex B; and 3 substances to Annex C. According to Article 7 of the SC, parties are required to review and update their NIPs in the manner specified by the decision of the COP. Thailand has compiled its first POPs inventory in 2006. Based on information gained from the first inventory report, the Thai government had developed and implemented its National Implementation Plan (NIP) to fulfill its obligations under the Convention. Since the last study was completed more than 10 years ago, an update of POPs inventory is required to better reflect current situations as well as new knowledge accumulated over the years. NSTDA by MTEC was tasked to review and update national POPs inventories to cover 15 new POPs substances listed under the SC up until 2019 (excl. SCCP), conduct national capacity assessment and priority setting for management of the new POPs, and formulate the updated NIP.