Persistent organic pollutant emissions in Europe

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) bioaccumulate and harm human health. Targeted EU legislation, in line with commitments under the UNECE Air Convention, led to marked POP reductions from 1990. In recent years (2005-2022), emissions have continued to fall, with declines reported in most Member States: hexachlorobenzene by 56%, polychlorinated biphenyls by 61%, dioxins and furans by 66%, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by 22%. The most significant POP sources are the commercial, institutional and households and industrial processes and product use sectors.

Emissions of persistent organic air pollutants in the 27 EU Member States, 2005-2022

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including polychlorinated dibenzo para dioxins (PCDDs; dioxins) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs; furans), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), are directly toxic to human health, animals and plants. These bioaccumulative compounds are of particular concern because of their possible carcinogenic, immunological and reproductive effects, and their potential impact on human development. Eliminating POPs is therefore a key goal of environmental action at EU and international levels.

The EU is a party to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Air Convention. The Air Convention’s 1998 Aarhus Protocol on Persistent Organic Pollutants obliges parties to reduce emissions of certain POPs and has banned or restricted the use of some compounds. In 2001, the Stockholm Convention was adopted, building on the Aarhus Protocol to take action on POPs at the international level.

Improvements in abatement technologies and targeted EU legislation have contributed to marked reductions in POP emissions in the EU since 1990. These include the Community strategy for dioxins and furans (PCDDs and PCDFs) and PCBs , the Persistent Organic Pollutants Regulation and the Industrial Emissions Directive.

In 2009, the Aarhus Protocol and the Stockholm Convention were amended to cover additional compounds and introduce emission limit values for waste incineration. Moreover, in 2016, the EU’s National Emissions reduction Commitments Directive (NECD) was amended to include new reporting requirements for Member States, including the requirement to provide annual inventories of POP emissions.

Between 2005 and 2022, emissions of dioxins and furans, HCB, PCBs and PAHs decreased by 66%, 56%, 61% and 22%, respectively, with notable declines in the industrial processes and product use, energy production and distribution, and waste sectors. Yet, the industrial processes and product use sector remains a significant source of POPs, accounting for 77% of PCBs, and almost 9% of dioxins and furans as well as 26% of HCB emissions in 2022. The commercial, institutional and household sector is also a significant source of POPs, accounting for 81% of PAH, 20% of dioxins and furans, and 17% of HCB emissions in 2022. In addition, the agricultural sector accounted for 20% of HCB emissions in 2022.

Persistent organic pollutant emissions in the EU-27 Member States, by country, 2005-2022

POP emissions fell in most Member States between 2005 and 2022, contributing to improving the situation across the EU. This is in part the result of the implementation of national POP legislation, with Spain, for instance, reporting that declines in HCB emissions were due to the adoption of a national regulation in line with the Stockholm Convention.

Increases in POP emissions were reported by some countries, however, most notably the exceptionally large increases in HCB and PCBs emissions in Malta. Furthermore, relatively large increases in emissions of PCBs in Greece and HCB in Bulgaria and Luxembourg. In some cases, this may reflect reporting anomalies (Malta) rather than increases in emissions, or relatively small increases in absolute emissions from very low baseline levels.

In 2022, Spain accounted for the largest proportion of the EU’s dioxins and furans (25% and 36% respectively) and Poland accounted for the largest proportion of the EU’s PAH (31%) emissions, with Finland and Italy accounting for most HCB (27% and 12% respectively) emissions.

Supporting information

DefinitionMethodology

This indicator is based on the national total and sectoral emissions officially reported to the EEA and the UNECE/co-operative programme for monitoring and evaluation of the long-range transmission of air pollutants in Europe (EMEP) LRTAP Convention. For the EU-27, the data used are consistent with the emissions data reported by the EU in its annual submission to the LRTAP Convention.

Recommended methodologies for emission inventory estimation are included in the EMEP/EEA air pollutant emission inventory guidebook. Base data are available from the EEA Data Service. Where necessary, gaps in reported data are filled by the European Environment Agency using Methodology for gap-filling (see below). The final gap-filled data used in this indicator are available from the EEA DataHub.

Indicator specification and metadata

Base data, reported in the UNECE/EMEP nomenclature for reporting (NFR19) sector format, are aggregated into the following EEA sector codes to obtain a consistent reporting format across all countries and pollutants:

Energy production and distribution: emissions from public heat and electricity generation, oil refining, production of solid fuels, extraction and distribution of solid fossil fuels and geothermal energy;
Energy use in industry: emissions from combustion processes used in the manufacturing industry including boilers, gas turbines and stationary engines;
Industrial processes: emissions derived from non-combustion-related processes such as the production of minerals, chemicals and metals;
Road transport: light and heavy duty vehicles, passenger cars and motorcycles;
Non-road transport: railways, domestic shipping, certain aircraft movements and non-road mobile machinery used in agriculture and forestry;
Commercial, institutional and households: emissions principally occurring from fuel combustion in the services and household sectors;
Solvent and product use: non-combustion-related emissions mainly in the services and households sectors including activities such as paint application, dry-cleaning and other use of solvents;
Agriculture: manure management, fertiliser application and field-burning of agricultural wastes;
Waste: incineration and wastewater management;
Other: emissions included in national totals for the entire territory that are not allocated to any other sector.

The following table shows the conversion of NFR sector codes used for reporting by countries into EEA sector codes:

EEA classification	Non-greenhouse gases (NFR)
National totals	National total
Energy production and distribution	1A1, 1A3e, 1B
Energy use in industry	1A2
Road transport	1A3b
Non-road transport (non-road mobile machinery)	1A3 (excl. 1A3b)
Industrial processes and product use	2
Agriculture	4
Waste	6
Commercial, institutional and households	1A4ai, 1A4aii, 1A4bi, 1A4bii, 1A4ci, 1A4cii 1A5a, 1A5b
Other	7

Methodology for gap filling

An improved gap-filling methodology was implemented in 2010 that enables a complete time-series trend for the main air pollutants to be compiled. In cases in which countries did not report emissions for any year, it meant that gap filling could not be applied. For these pollutants, therefore, the aggregated data are not yet complete and are likely to underestimate true emissions. Further methodological details of the gap-filling procedure are provided in the European Union emission inventory report 1990-2022 under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP) .

Policy/environmental relevance

POPs, including PAHs, are recognised as being directly toxic to biota. They can progressively accumulate in the food chain in a way that chronic exposure of lower organisms to relatively low concentrations can expose predatory organisms, including humans and wildlife, to potentially harmful concentrations. POPs are also of concern for human health because of their toxicity, potential to cause cancer and ability to cause harmful effects at low concentrations. Their relative toxic/carcinogenic potencies are compound specific. POPs, including PAHs, have also been shown to possess a number of toxicological properties. The major concern is centred around their possible carcinogenic, immunological and reproductive effects, but more recently concern has also been expressed over their possible harmful effects on human development.

Targeted European Commission legislation (directives and regulations), coupled with improved control and abatement techniques, have led to good progress being made by the 27 EU Member States (EU-27) towards reducing air emissions of POPs, including the PAH group of chemicals. Such legislation is described below.

The ultimate objective of the 1998 United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Aarhus Protocol on POPs (to the 1979 Air Convention) is to eliminate any discharges, emissions and losses of POPs . The original protocol already banned the production and use of some products (aldrin, chlordane, chlordecone, dieldrin, endrin, hexabromobiphenyl, mirex and toxaphene), while others are scheduled for elimination at a later date (DDT, heptachlor, hexachlorobenzene and PCBs). In 2009, the protocol was updated to list commercial pentabromodiphenyl (penta-BDE) and commercial octabromodiphenyl (octa-BDE) as POPs, and the POPs task force concluded that hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) also met the criteria to be considered a POP, and therefore potential risk management options are currently being considered for it. Finally, the protocol severely restricts the use of DDT, hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), including lindane, and PCBs, and includes provisions for dealing with the wastes of products that will be banned. It also obliges parties to reduce their emissions of dioxins and furans, PAHs and HCB to below their 1990 levels (or an alternative year between 1985 and 1995). It also lays down specific limit values for the incineration of municipal, hazardous and medical waste.

The 2001 UNEP Stockholm Convention on POPs aims to reduce and ultimately cease the manufacture, use, storage and emission of POPs, as well as to destroy existing stocks. It provides for measures to reduce or eliminate emissions resulting from intentional and unintentional production and use. It also plans to meet the obligations on technical and financial assistance for developing countries and countries with economies in transition, and to cooperate and exchange information. Twelve POPs were covered under the original scope of the Stockholm Convention:

pesticides: aldrin, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, hexachlorobenzene, mirex and toxaphene;
industrial chemicals: HCB and PCBs;
by-products: HCB, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDDs/PCDFs), and PCBs.

In May 2009, additional chemicals were added to the Stockholm Convention:

pesticides: chlordecone, alpha hexachlorocyclohexane, beta hexachlorocyclohexane, lindane and pentachlorobenzene;
industrial chemicals: hexabromobiphenyl, hexabromodiphenyl ether and heptabromodiphenyl ether, pentachlorobenzene, perfluorooctane sulfonic acid and its salts, and perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride, tetrabromodiphenyl ether and pentabromodiphenyl ether;
by-products: alpha-HCH, beta-HCH and pentachlorobenzene.

The European Commission’s Communication on a Community strategy for dioxins, furans and PCBs (COM(2001) 593 final) aims to assess the current state of the environment and to reduce human exposure and long-term environmental effects. This communication does not propose legislative measures, but could be the basis for a Community action plan.

Directive 2010/75/EU on the limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from large combustion plants has had the effect of reducing heavy metal and PAH emissions via dust control and absorption.

Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 on persistent organic pollutants entered into force on 20 May 2004. The main purpose of this regulation is to enable the European Community to ratify the Stockholm Convention and the Aarhus Protocol. The regulation also deals with stockpiles of redundant substances.

Directive 2008/50/EC on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe (2008/50/EC) and Directive 2004/107/EC relating to heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air contain provisions, and target and limit values for the further control of air pollutants in ambient air.

There are also a number of specific EU environmental quality and emission standards for heavy metals and POPs in coastal and inland waters, drinking waters, etc. These have only indirect relevance to air emissions, as they do not directly specify emission or precipitation quality requirements, but rather specify the required quality of receiving waters. Such measures include Directive 84/491/EEC on hexachlorohexane discharges; Directives 76/464/EC and 86/280/EC on dangerous substances; and the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC).

Metadata

DPSIRTopicsTagsTemporal coverageGeographic coverage

TypologyUN SDGsUnit of measureFrequency of dissemination

References and footnotes

EC, 2001, Communication from the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee on the implementation of the Community strategy for dioxins, furans, and polychlorinated biphenyls, COM(2001) 593 final.

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EU, 2004, Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on persistent organic pollutants and amending Directive 79/117/EEC

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EU, 2008, Directive 2008/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2008 on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe

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EU, 2004, Directive 2004/107/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 relating to arsenic, cadmium, mercury, nickel and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air

^↵
EU, 2000, Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for community action in the field of water policy, OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1-73.

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Persistent organic pollutant emissions in Europe

Figure 1. Emissions of persistent organic air pollutants in the 27 EU Member States, 2005-2022

Figure 2. Persistent organic pollutant emissions in the EU-27 Member States, by country, 2005-2022

Supporting information

Indicator specification and metadata

Methodology for gap filling

Other related policy documents include:

Metadata

References and footnotes