Proposed POPs listing for TBPH
The European Commission proposes to include the brominated flame retardant TBPH under the Stockholm POPs Convention (Persistent Organic Pollutants). TBPH (tris(2-ethylhexyl) 3,4,5,6-tetrabromophthalate), a brominated flame retardant and plasticizer, is on the EU CoRAP Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern as vPvB (very Persistent and very bioaccumulative) since 2023. The European Commission has now proposed to Member States (Council) to file for its listing on Annex A or B of the Stockholm Convention on POPs. The Commission decision states that TBPH is both subject to long range transport and toxic (see also e.g. Xing et al. 2025). The Commission considers that submission to the Stockholm Convention is coherent with EU policy development in that the Commission has given the mandate to the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) to prepare a REACH Annex XV restriction proposal on certain non-polymeric aromatic brominated flame retardants (ABFRs), one of which is TBPH (see above). This follows the ECHA report on Aromatic Brominated Flame Retardants (see pinfa Newsletter n°166).
European Commission “Proposal for a Council Decision on the submission, on behalf of the European Union, of a proposal for the listing of TBPH in Annex A or Annex B to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants”, COM(2026)51, 4th February 2026 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52026PC0051
