National Implementation Plan (NIP) for the implementation of the Stockholm Convention in the Czech Republic.

The National Implementation Plan (NIP) for the implementation of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (Stockholm Convention, SC) in the Czech Republic has as main strategy objectives: 1) Elimination of POPs releases into the environment and reduction of human exposure to POPs; Liquidation of old burdens connected with the previous production, use, distribution and disposal of POPs; The support of the completion of the installations to collect POPs containing waste, or of other hazardous substances, is absolutely inevitable. They will be environmentally safely collected and stored until their removal with the maximum possible use of the existing network of such installations would be available; Application of BAT/BEP principles (Best Available Techniques/Best Environmental Practices) in the framework of the future industry development strategy; Preparation of comprehensive plans for the liquidation of waste containing POPs including the impact assessment on the environment and on human health; Gathering additional data necessary for the objective evaluation of the POPs load in selected areas by carrying out the inventories of entries into all components of the environment, into products and waste for all substances on the list of the SC and PAHs; Optimizing monitoring programs of individual ministries with the aim to achieve tasks associated with the SC.
Institutional and Regulatory Measures include short term and long term activities such as ensure the implementation and consistent monitoring; use of technical guidelines concerning POPs, PCB/PCT, pesticides and limits; initiate adjustments of the waste water treatment method for those resulting from the industrial operations. Specific measures for the production, import and export, use, stocks, landfills and wastes from chemical substances listed in the Annex A, Part I of the Stockholm Convention include: introduce regular checks of agrochemical storage facilities; report elaboration, monitoring program. Action Plan for the production, import and export, use, identification, labelling, removal, storage and disposal of PCBs and of facilities containing PCBs (Annex A, Part II) include: Complete and monitor the PCB Inventory; solve issue of waste containing PCBs in a complex manner with resulting into the establishment of a collection system; Support the construction of a facility suitable for the environmentally sound disposal; etc. Action Plan in relation to the production, import and export, use, stocks and wastes containing DDT (Annex B) is not relevant as DDT is not produced in the Czech Republic. Action plan on the releases from the unintentional production (by-products of PCDDs/Fs, HCB and PCBs) includes: Carry out the emission inventory of HCB and PCBs and complete the inventory on PAHs and PCDDs/Fs into all constituents of the environment, to the waste and products; Solve problems concerning production; handling of waste HCB and risks associated with the HCB waste transport urgently, Control the handling the fly ash resulting from combustion, thermal and pyrolytic process, etc. Activities for the identification and corresponding management of contaminated sites (Annexes A, B and C) are: Conduct a rigorous inventory of contaminated sites with the preliminary assessment of the potential health and environmental risks; use this assessment for the future risk analyses and for the evaluation of the necessity of the resulting decontamination together with the economic assessment of such interference, etc.