U.S. Law and the Stockholm POPs Convention: Analysis of Treaty-Implementing Provisions in Pending Legislation

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) analyzes the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011 (S. 847), a bill introduced by Senator Frank Lautenberg to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The analysis evaluates whether the bill provides the necessary implementing authority for the United States to ratify the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), the POPs Protocol to the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP POPs Protocol), and the Rotterdam Convention.

• The Safe Chemicals Act of 2011 provides the general implementing authority required for the United States to ratify the Stockholm Convention, the LRTAP POPs Protocol, and the Rotterdam Convention. It achieves this by granting the EPA authority to implement treaty provisions for listed chemicals "notwithstanding any other provision of law" and by using a definition of "chemical" that is broader than the standard TSCA definition, thereby covering substances like pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.
• The bill addresses a critical gap in current U.S. law by closing the export exemption found in TSCA section 12(a). By expanding the definition of "distribute in commerce" to include exports, the bill enables the U.S. to comply with the Stockholm Convention's prohibitions on the export of listed POPs.
• The legislation allows the EPA to prohibit the manufacture, processing, use, and distribution of both originally listed POPs (the "dirty dozen") and any chemicals added to the treaties in the future. This is managed through a flexible framework where the EPA can promulgate rules to ensure compliance with "applicable obligations" without needing to name every specific chemical in the legislation.
• Regarding Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), the bill generally enables compliance with treaty phase-out periods by closing the export loophole and tightening the criteria for exemptions. However, CIEL recommends further amendments to ensure that any authorized alternatives to "totally enclosed manner" requirements explicitly comply with the treaty obligations in section 36.
• The bill streamlines the notice and comment process for new POPs listings compared to previous legislative proposals. It establishes requirements at three specific stages: the submission/proposal of a chemical, the expert committee's recommendation, and the Conference of the Parties' decision for the Stockholm Convention.
• The Safe Chemicals Act empowers the U.S. to take domestic action on persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals before they are listed in international treaties. It requires the EPA to classify 20 to 30 PBT substances as "priority class 1" and impose conditions to achieve the "greatest practicable reductions" in exposure within 18 months of classification.
• The bill protects the right of states and municipalities to maintain stronger chemical regulations. It stipulates that TSCA will not preempt state laws unless compliance with both the federal Act and the state regulation is impossible.

APA

Ditz, D., Tuncak, B., & Wiser, G. (2011). U.S. Law and the Stockholm POPs Convention: Analysis of Treaty-Implementing Provisions in Pending Legislation. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/US_Law_and_Stockholm_POPs.pdf

Chicago

Ditz, Daryl, Baskut Tuncak, and Glenn Wiser. U.S. Law and the Stockholm POPs Convention: Analysis of Treaty-Implementing Provisions in Pending Legislation. Center for International Environmental Law, 2011. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/US_Law_and_Stockholm_POPs.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ditz |first1=Daryl |last2=Tuncak |first2=Baskut |last3=Wiser |first3=Glenn |title=U.S. Law and the Stockholm POPs Convention: Analysis of Treaty-Implementing Provisions in Pending Legislation |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=24 June 2011 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/US_Law_and_Stockholm_POPs.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ditz2011law, author = {Ditz, Daryl and Tuncak, Baskut and Wiser, Glenn}, title = {{U.S. Law and the Stockholm POPs Convention: Analysis of Treaty-Implementing Provisions in Pending Legislation}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2011}, month = jun, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/US_Law_and_Stockholm_POPs.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }