This National Implementation Plan (NIP) for management of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) describes the national situation in respect of the toxic substances covered by the Convention and the steps that have been followed to implement the Convention, specifying the measures the country took to meet the obligations under the Convention and covering the period 2005 to 2008. Although the Convention substances have been phased out in the Netherlands or their emission minimised, these compounds are still present in the environment, therefore the NIP addresses also air, soil and water pollution and waste disposal. The NIP is structured as follows: introduction; country description; Policy and legislation; enforcement; situation of POPs in the Netherlands; the new nine POPs; locations contaminated with POPs; monitoring; information provision; National Action Plan and inclusion of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (BDEs) in international regulations; substances in waste stream and stocks; reporting obligations within the framework of the Stockholm Convention and the EU Legislation.
Concerning the state of the POPs in the country, the NIP focuses on: production; admission data and use; waste streams; presence in the environment; emissions and environmental quality; variety of information used to determine the status of each POP; removing and eliminating BDEs and PFOS from production chains. Concerning the update for existing and new POPs, the NIP provides for: waste phase analysis; report on emissions; pollution of soil; production and use.