Defra is seeking views on proposed changes to the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Regulation, including draft legislation to prohibit 5 new POPs.
This is a public consultation on Defra Citizen Space, closing on 13th May 2026.
They want to know what you think about draft legislation to add 5 new POPs to the list of prohibited substances in Annex I of the assimilated POPs Regulation. This will prohibit the use, manufacture and placing on the market of the following POPs substances in Great Britain:
- Medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (MCCPs)
- Long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids (LC-PFCAs)
- UV-328
- Dechlorane Plus
- Chlorpyrifos
They also want to know what you think about:
- proposed changes to an existing entry for the already-prohibited POP, perfluorooctane sulfonates (PFOS).
- potential implications of recent EU amendments to an existing entry for the already-prohibited POP, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs).
- potential implications of other recent or upcoming amendments to the EU POPs Regulation, which applies in Northern Ireland, as well as the potential suitability of equivalent amendments being implemented in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales).
- evaluation processes, evidence generation, and engagement regarding substances considered as potential new POPs under the Stockholm Convention.
For more information and guidance on POPs, see the POPs collection page.
Alongside the consultation on the draft legislation to amend the POPs Regulation, currently there are also two live calls for comments relating to work being undertaken by the Stockholm Convention’s technical body (the POPs Review Committee, or POPRC).
These two calls for comments close on 1st May 2026, and they each refer to documents that have been revised following similar calls for comments held in 2025. Specifically, they:
- seek comments on a revised risk profile for a group of substances that is currently undergoing evaluation as a potential new POP (PBDD/Fs and PBCDD/Fs);
- seek comments on a revised indicative list for several already-adopted POP substances (including LC-PFCAs).
