PFAS 'forever chemicals' and the Stockholm Convention: where India stands
Why in news: On 15 September 2026, Japan withdrew its notification of non-acceptance of the PFHxS listing, the UN depositary record shows.
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are fluorinated chemicals that barely break down. The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants restricts PFOS and lists PFOA, PFHxS and long-chain PFCAs for elimination. The UN depositary record shows no Indian acceptance of these four listings. Japan withdrew its non-acceptance of the PFHxS listing on 15 September 2026.
Syllabus: Prelims · Environment & Ecology; GS3 · Environment & Conservation; GS2 · International Institutions
Why this matters for UPSC
GS3 environment (pollution, international conventions) and GS2 international institutions. Prelims can ask which annex of the Stockholm Convention lists PFOS or PFOA; Mains, how India should regulate emerging contaminants in drinking water.
In short
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are thousands of synthetic fluorinated chemicals that resist breakdown; the Stockholm Convention now restricts or bans four PFAS groups, none yet accepted by India.
India must first measure PFAS in its water, then decide on the four listings, balancing industrial uses against long-lived risks to health.
Why it matters
PFAS reach people mostly through drinking water and food, and they stay in the body for years. A family drinking groundwater near a polluted river or a fire-training site can carry these chemicals in their blood, and a mother can pass some to her baby through breast milk. Because the substances do not break down, contamination today remains a problem for decades, and cleaning a water source costs far more than preventing the pollution. Whether India accepts the global bans decides whether industry here must phase these chemicals out. The larger question is how a country regulates thousands of new chemicals before the evidence of harm is complete.
Prelims pointers
- Stockholm Convention annexes: Annex A, elimination; Annex B, restriction of production and use; Annex C, unintentional releases to be reduced or eliminated.
- New chemicals are examined by the POPs Review Committee (Article 8) and listed by the Conference of the Parties.
- PFOS is the only PFAS group in Annex B; PFOA, PFHxS and long-chain PFCAs are in Annex A.
- PFOS acceptable purpose: sulfluramid insect baits against leaf-cutting ants; exemptions include closed-loop hard-metal plating and Class B fire-fighting foam.
- Basel (hazardous wastes), Rotterdam (prior informed consent in chemical trade) and Stockholm (POPs) conventions share a joint secretariat.
- Central Pollution Control Board: statutory body under Section 3 of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
- National Green Tribunal: set up on 18 October 2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010.
Practise a UPSC-style question
With reference to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, consider the following statements:
1. New chemicals proposed for listing are examined by the chemical working group of the World Health Organization.
2. The Convention was adopted in 2001 and entered into force in 2004.
3. Its Annex C covers unintentionally produced pollutants whose releases Parties must reduce or eliminate.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Show the answer
Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only
1 is incorrect: under Article 8, proposals are examined by the Convention's own POPs Review Committee, and the Conference of the Parties lists the chemical. 2 is correct: it was adopted on 22 May 2001 and entered into force on 17 May 2004. 3 is correct: Annex C covers unintentionally produced POPs, whose releases Parties must reduce or eliminate.
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