National Implementation Plan for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.

The National Implementation Plan for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants 2017 (2017 NIP) review the 2006 NIP. After the executive summary and introduction the document is divided into 2 main sections. Section 2, with information about geography, government and economy, policy and legislation, approaches and management procedures. The section also provides an assessment of the POPs issue in Iceland. Section 3 contains the strategy and action plan elements of the implementation plan.
Activities and measures follow. 1) Institutional and regulatory strengthening measures Regulations have been implemented in Iceland, which cover the use and management of POP substances. Operating permits are required for activities that may emit unintentionally produced POPs and emission standards have been set. Institutional and legal framework is in place for permitting and compliance with and for implementing regulations. Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 on Persistent Organic Pollutants and amending Directive 79/117/EEC, is transposed into Iceland legislation i.e. Regulation No. 954/2013. This new regulation supplements existing regulations that implement the provisions of the Stockholm Convention. There is furthermore a need to strengthen the legal basis for and adopt a new regulation on contaminated soil with the aim of strengthening the regulatory framework for the management of contaminated sites. 2) Measures to reduce or eliminate releases of PCBs (Annex A, part II chemicals): Regulation No. 888/2015 prohibits all uses of PCBs after 2010. 3) Measures to reduce releases from unintentional production: The largest source of PCDD/PCDF in Iceland in 2013 was the fishing fleet; Accidental fires and bonfires were the second and third largest sources. 4) Measures to reduce releases form stockpiles and waste: annually measurements of dioxin and furan from waste incineration plants; regulation on contaminated soil is still under preparation; . mapping of identified contaminated sites will be done in 2018; etc. 5) The Envrionment Agency of Iceland has been designated as a focal point for exchange of information under Article 9.