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

The analysis concludes that the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011 (S. 847) provides the legal authority required for the U.S. to ratify the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), the LRTAP POPs Protocol, and the Rotterdam Convention. Key mechanisms include closing the TSCA export loophole and granting the EPA authority to prohibit the manufacture, use, and distribution of chemicals inconsistent with treaty obligations. The report also highlights the bill's ability to allow the U.S. to regulate persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals independently of international consensus, potentially restoring U.S. global leadership on chemical safety.

• The Safe Chemicals Act of 2011 provides the general implementing authority needed for the U.S. to ratify the Stockholm Convention, the LRTAP POPs Protocol, and the Rotterdam Convention by allowing the EPA to regulate chemicals to ensure compliance with treaty obligations.
• The bill addresses a critical gap in the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) by closing the export exemption, which is necessary because the Stockholm Convention generally prohibits the export of listed POPs.
• The legislation enables the U.S. to comply with the original 'dirty dozen' POPs listings by prohibiting their manufacture, processing, use, and distribution in commerce if such actions are inconsistent with applicable treaty obligations.
• Regarding polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), the bill generally supports treaty compliance but may create conflicts by allowing exemptions to prohibitions and alternatives to 'totally enclosed manner' requirements.
• The bill streamlines notice and comment procedures for new POPs listings compared to previous legislative proposals, reducing opportunities for delay while maintaining stakeholder input at three key stages of the listing process.
• The Safe Chemicals Act protects state-level environmental action by ensuring that TSCA generally does not preempt state or municipal chemicals laws unless compliance with both is impossible.
• The bill empowers the U.S. to act on persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals before global consensus is reached by requiring the EPA to classify 20 to 30 such substances as 'priority class 1' and impose exposure reductions within 18 months.

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} }