Environment Agency - SCCPs & MCCP's in fairy/ string light cables

This contract will conduct analysis of the plastic cables of fairy / string lighting for the presence of short chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) and medium chain chlorinated paraffins (MCCPs).

SCCPs are restricted under the EU POPs Regulation. The purpose of the analysis is to monitor compliance with the restriction. Headphones placed on the market in the UK (and wider EU) have recently been found by other countries to contain non-compliant levels of SCCPs. SCCPs are also a Priority Hazardous Substance under the Water Framework Directive.

The plastic cables will also be analysed for MCCPs. In 2019, the REACH Substance Evaluation of MCCPs concluded they met the PBT and vPvB criteria. This conclusion will ultimately lead to the inclusion of MCCPs on the REACH Candidate List and a POP nomination to the UN Stockholm Convention. In the current climate of a circular economy where increased volumes of materials containing these materials are likely to be re-used, quantitative analysis would improve data that could be used in the risk management of these substances.