Annex A - Elimination

Notes:

1. Except as otherwise specified in this Convention, quantities of a chemical occurring as unintentional trace contaminants in products and articles shall not be considered to be listed in this Annex;
2. This note shall not be considered as a production and use specific exemption for purposes of paragraph 2 of Article 3. Quantities of a chemical occurring as constituents of articles manufactured or already in use before or on the date of entry into force of the relevant obligation with respect to that chemical, shall not be considered as listed in this Annex, provided that a Party has notified the Secretariat that a particular type of article remains in use within that Party. The Secretariat shall make such notifications publicly available;
3. This note, which does not apply to a chemical that has an asterisk following its name in the Chemical column in Part I of this Annex, shall not be considered as a production and use specific exemption for purposes of paragraph 2 of Article 3. Given that no significant quantities of the chemical are expected to reach humans and the environment during the production and use of a closed-system site-limited intermediate, a Party, upon notification to the Secretariat, may allow the production and use of quantities of a chemical listed in this Annex as a closed-system site-limited intermediate that is chemically transformed in the manufacture of other chemicals that, taking into consideration the criteria in paragraph 1 of Annex D, do not exhibit the characteristics of persistent organic pollutants. This notification shall include information on total production and use of such chemical or a reasonable estimate of such information and information regarding the nature of the closed-system site-limited process including the amount of any non-transformed and unintentional trace contamination of the persistent organic pollutant-starting material in the final product. This procedure applies except as otherwise specified in this Annex. The Secretariat shall make such notifications available to the Conference of the Parties and to the public. Such production or use shall not be considered a production or use specific exemption. Such production and use shall cease after a ten-year period, unless the Party concerned submits a new notification to the Secretariat, in which case the period will be extended for an additional ten years unless the Conference of the Parties, after a review of the production and use decides otherwise. The notification procedure can be repeated;
4. All the specific exemptions in this Annex may be exercised by Parties that have registered exemptions in respect of them in accordance with Article 4 with the exception of the use of polychlorinated biphenyls in articles in use in accordance with the provisions of Part II of this Annex, which may be exercised by all Parties.

Each Party shall:

• (a) With regard to the elimination of the use of polychlorinated biphenyls in equipment (e.g. transformers, capacitors or other receptacles containing liquid stocks) by 2025, subject to review by the Conference of the Parties, take action in accordance with the following priorities:
  1. Make determined efforts to identify, label and remove from use equipment containing greater than 10 per cent polychlorinated biphenyls and volumes greater than 5 litres;
  2. Make determined efforts to identify, label and remove from use equipment containing greater than 0.05 per cent polychlorinated biphenyls and volumes greater than 5 litres;
  3. Endeavour to identify and remove from use equipment containing greater than 0.005 percent polychlorinated biphenyls and volumes greater than 0.05 litres;
  
  
• (b) Consistent with the priorities in subparagraph (a), promote the following measures to reduce exposures and risk to control the use of polychlorinated biphenyls:
  1. Use only in intact and non-leaking equipment and only in areas where the risk from environmental release can be minimised and quickly remedied;
  2. Not use in equipment in areas associated with the production or processing of food or feed;
  3. When used in populated areas, including schools and hospitals, all reasonable measures to protect from electrical failure which could result in a fire, and regular inspection of equipment for leaks;
  
  
• (c) Notwithstanding paragraph 2 of Article 3, ensure that equipment containing polychlorinated biphenyls, as described in subparagraph (a), shall not be exported or imported except for the purpose of environmentally sound waste management;
  
• (d) Except for maintenance and servicing operations, not allow recovery for the purpose of reuse in other equipment of liquids with polychlorinated biphenyls content above 0.005 per cent;
  
• (e) Make determined efforts designed to lead to environmentally sound waste management of liquids containing polychlorinated biphenyls and equipment contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls having a polychlorinated biphenyls content above 0.005 per cent, in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 6, as soon as possible but no later than 2028, subject to review by the Conference of the Parties;
  
• (f) In lieu of note (ii) in Part I of this Annex, endeavour to identify other articles containing more than 0.005 per cent polychlorinated biphenyls (e.g. cable-sheaths, cured caulk and painted objects) and manage them in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 6;
  
• (g) Provide a report every five years on progress in eliminating polychlorinated biphenyls and submit it to the Conference of the Parties pursuant to Article 15;
  
• (h) The reports described in subparagraph (g) shall, as appropriate, be considered by the Conference of the Parties in its reviews relating to polychlorinated biphenyls. The Conference of the Parties shall review progress towards elimination of polychlorinated biphenyls at five year intervals or other period, as appropriate, taking into account such reports.