On March 16, 2026, the New Zealand Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) officially announced a proposal to restrict three chemical substances newly listed under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants and has opened a public consultation.
Background
In May 2025, three new chemicals were added to the Stockholm Convention, an international treaty aimed at eliminating or restricting the production and use of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). POPs are highly toxic, degrade slowly, travel long distances in the environment, and accumulate in humans, animals, and ecosystems, posing significant health risks. As a party to the convention, New Zealand must cease or restrict the production, use, import, and export of these chemicals. Accordingly, the EPA plans to add the relevant substances to Schedule 2A (Persistent Organic Pollutants List) of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 (HSNO Act).
The EPA proposes to regulate the following three chemical substances and products containing them:
- Chlorpyrifos: An organophosphate insecticide widely used as a broad-spectrum pesticide in various crops and for biosecurity purposes. A reassessment of chlorpyrifos was completed in New Zealand in 2025, with all uses set to be phased out by July 8, 2027. However, the proposed Stockholm Convention restriction would take effect earlier, on December 16, 2026.
- Medium-Chain Chlorinated Paraffins (MCCPs): Widely used as plasticisers in polyvinyl chloride (PVC), as additives in metalworking fluids, and in paints, sealants, and adhesives.
- Long-Chain Perfluorocarboxylic Acids (LC-PFCAs): A group of long-chain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) with a wide range of applications, including medical and laboratory equipment, photographic imaging, food contact materials, paints and surface coatings, firefighting foam, textiles and clothing, personal care products, and cleaning agents.
Potentially Affected Sectors:
Chlorpyrifos
- Livestock sector
- Seed producers/importers
- Agricultural chemical importers/manufacturers
MCCPs
- Plastics and polymers/rubber industry, cable and wire coatings
- PVC building products
- PVC packaging film
- Adhesives, sealants, polyurethane foam, paints/coatings
- Leather processing
- Medical devices/instruments
- Instruments for measurement, process control, monitoring, etc.
- Defence/aerospace industry
- Metalworking fluids
- Motor vehicles, importers, and parts suppliers
- Machinery (agriculture, construction, forestry, landscaping, etc.)
- Electrical and electronic equipment
LC-PFCAs
- Semiconductor importers/manufacturers
- Motor vehicle importers and parts suppliers
- Motor vessels
- Electrical and electronic equipment
- Medical and laboratory equipment/instruments
- Photographic imaging applications
- Paints and coatings, printing inks
- Paper and paperboard packaging
- Textiles and clothing, carpets
- Cleaning/polishing products
Consultation on Exemptions
The Stockholm Convention allows for limited-duration exemptions under specific circumstances. New Zealand may choose to apply these exemptions and must notify them if so. The following exemptions are proposed for consultation:
Specific Use Exemptions (valid for five years, until December 16, 2031)
MCCP exemptions would apply to:
- Flexible PVC: limited to wire and cables in building and construction and medical devices, and calendered packaging film.
- Flexible polyurethane foam for thermal insulation.
- Adhesives and sealants: limited to polysulfide sealants and one-component polyurethane foam, waterproofing and anti-corrosion coatings, and aerospace and defence applications.
- Adhesive tape for non-structural bonding of aerospace and defence products.
- Fatliquoring in leather processing.
- Pyrotechnics for emergency response.
- Metalworking fluids.
- Polymers and rubber (including PVC, EPDM, neoprene, NBR, and CPE) for repair and replacement parts of articles, until the end of the article’s service life or until 2041.
- Coatings and paints for repair and replacement parts of aerospace and defence equipment, until the end of the article’s service life, with a review in 2041.
LC-PFCA exemptions would apply to:
- Semiconductor replacement parts for vessels with internal combustion engines (until the end of the article’s service life or 2041, whichever is sooner).
- Replacement parts for motor vehicles no longer in mass production (until the end of the article’s service life or 2041, whichever is sooner).
- Semiconductor replacement parts not specified under the convention.
Exemption for Articles in Use
Finished products or equipment already present in New Zealand that contain these chemicals before the restrictions take effect would be allowed to remain until the end of their service life.
Next Steps
This consultation aims to better understand the potential impacts of the proposed restrictions on New Zealand’s industries and society. The public can submit feedback to popsconsultation@epa.govt.nz from March 17 to April 17, 2026. Following the consultation, the EPA will collate the input, prepare a report for the Minister for the Environment, and publish the report. The Minister will then seek Cabinet approval to amend Schedules 1AA (Persistent Organic Pollutants controlled under the Stockholm Convention) and 2A of the HSNO Act, formally incorporating the chemicals and exemptions into regulations. In accordance with the Stockholm Convention, these amendments must be completed by December 16, 2026.
