Thread by @andresdelcas

🔴📢BREAKING The most gravitational document for #INC2 #plasticstreaty is out

🤯13000 chemicals used in plastics as monomers, additives, processing aids and NIAS

➡️3200 are identified as chemicals of potential concern based on existing hazard types
READ:basel.int/Implementation…

🧪"Chemical simplification encourages the use of a smaller number of chemicals and facilitates a move from a chemical-specific approach to addressing groups of chemicals of concern, could prove more effective in light of the large number of chemicals"
#PlasticsTreaty

"For 6000 chemicals used in plastics, no hazard data was found in regulatory databases analysed, thus many of them could also be chemicals of potential concern."

"128 chemicals of concern (1%) are regulated under MEAs, namely the Stockholm Convention, the Minamata Convention or the Montreal Protocol, This represents around 4% of all identified chemicals of potential concern and 1% of all chemicals used in plastics."

"The number of polymers on the market have not been properly assessed, but could include up to 200000 different substances, according to one estimate"

Chemicals of concern are:
➡️persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBTs)
➡️very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB)
➡️carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic (CMR)
➡️persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
➡️heavy metals
➡️chemicals produced or used in high volumes

Unnecessary and avoidable plastics criteria:
➡️Contain amounts of plastics that can be reduced,
➡️Can be substituted with non-plastic fit-for-purpose alternatives;
➡️Can be eliminated entirely without compromising the consumer’s access to the intended product functionality

Problematic plastics are:
➡️Made using, manufactured with, containing, or has contained chemicals or polymers of concern; or
➡️Difficult to reuse, recycle or compost
➡️Hinders opportunities to recover other materials or
➡️A proven contribution to the plastic litter problem.

Full life cycle of plastic:

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕚𝕣𝕥𝕪 𝟙𝟘:
1⃣Bisphenols
2⃣Halogenated compounds and organophosphorus compounds
3⃣Phthalates
4⃣PFAS
5⃣UV filters
6⃣Toxic metal(loid)s
7⃣ Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
8⃣Nonylphenols (NPs)
9⃣Biocides
🔟 NIAS
#PlasticsTreaty

"in the case of single-use plastics, a positive list could be developed for items considered essential (e.g., medical blood bags, medical masks), whereas a grey list would list non-essential items (e.g., single-use plastic bags)"

Possible approaches for controlling chemicals of concern used in plastics:
➡️A Global negative list based on selection criteria
➡️A Global negative list based on existing regulatory lists of chemicals of concern
➡️A Global positive list based on chemicals deemed safe
➡️Hybrid +/-

👏Congratulation to authors for more than 2 years of work: @NikoUrho @KRaubenheimer and @keiohnowoodall