What You Need to Know About Dechlorane Plus – A Q&A
What are the regulatory consequences of Dechlorane Plus being included in the Stockholm Convention for the Aerospace industry, particularly in Europe, the UK, US, and Singapore? Also, is it still possible to import the substance from the US to Europe?
Since May 2023, the Stockholm Convention prohibits the manufacture and use, subject to exemptions, of Dechlorane Plus. Given the functioning of the Convention, there is currently no entry into-force date for this prohibition, but it is expected that this date will probably fall between 2025 and 2026.
Parties to the Convention, like the EU and UK, now need to ratify the amendment and implement it into their national regulations. The EU published its draft implementing regulation this year, including exemptions for aerospace, space and defence applications, medical imaging applications, radiotherapy devices and installations, and spare parts for these applications. The UK has not published any draft or information yet, but it is also likely that they will implement these exemptions too.
The US and Malaysia have not ratified the Convention, and as such are not subject to its obligations, including the new Dechlorane Plus prohibition. Dechlorane Plus is also not currently regulated, except for reporting requirements in the US, in either country.
Dechlorane Plus can be imported from the US to the EU until the prohibition of Dechlorane Plus is enacted in the EU, pending any exemptions. Businesses might need to comply with notification requirements as Dechlorane Plus is listed under the EU Candidate List.
What is your interpretation of the scope of exemptions described in decision SC-11/10 regarding the use of Dechlorane Plus for the production of new aerospace articles?
The exemptions need to follow the information in Part XI of this decision, but note that Part XI is meant to be read as three different statements, each applying to different exempted applications.
Paragraph 1 of Part XI applies to all the exempted applications:
Aerospace
Space and defence applications
Medical imaging and radiotherapy devices and installations
Replacement parts
And it simply specifies that these exemptions do not apply automatically, countries need to specify if these exemptions apply in their territory when implementing the restriction, as stated in Article 4 of the Convention.
Paragraphs 2 and 3 of Part XI only apply to the Replacement parts exemption. If you notice, in the restriction table this exemption is listed as: “Replacement parts for, and repair of, articles in applications in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 2 and 3 of part XI of this Annex”. These paragraphs specify that the exemption for replacement parts is only for those cases where dechlorane plus was originally used in the manufacture of the articles which will receive the replacement parts, and states which specific applications it can apply to and until when each paragraph has different applications and dates.
This means that there will be exemptions for both the production of new Aerospace articles and for the use of replacement parts in Aerospace applications. As mentioned above, each country needs to specify if these exemptions will apply in their territory or not. In the case of the EU, the draft regulation includes these exemptions.
What is the deadline for placing Dechlorane Plus on the market and why is understanding the scope of exemptions for aerospace products crucial?
There is currently no enforceable “entry into force” date at the Convention level as this is dependent on the Parties to the Convention submitting their ratification instruments and there is no deadline for this.
In the case of the EU, they’ve started an Initiative to add this restriction into the EU POPs regulation, and the expected date of adoption by the European Commission was planned for the fourth quarter of 2023. However, it has not yet been adopted; it will likely be adopted either by the end of 2024 or during 2025.
Publication in the Official Journal is what will set the entry into force date and the application date. The draft includes an application date of 26 February 2025. Transitional exemptions for aerospace, space and defence applications (until 26 February 2030), and spare parts for these same applications (until the end of their service life or until 31 December 2043) have been included in the draft. Additionally, articles containing Dechlorane Plus already in use will be allowed to be used after the exemption expiry date. Note that this is still a draft and thus the restrictions and exemptions can still change before they are officially approved.
Taking into account the above, the restriction timeline in the EU might look like this:
Restriction adopted in December 2024 or January 2025.
Restriction published in January 2025.
Entry into force in January 2025.
Restriction applies from 26 February 2025 (given the delays in adopting the draft this is likely to be changed to the end of 2025 or the start of 2026).
Transitional exemptions for aerospace, space and defence applications will be in place until 26 February 2030.
Transitional exemptions for spare parts for aerospace, space and defence applications will be in place until 31 December 2043.
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