Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
What are POPs?
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are organic chemical substances most of them man-made chemicals. POPs have many applications in agriculture and industry. However, once released in the environment, they are persistence in the environment, travel long distances, bioaccumulate in humans and wildlife, and have harmful effects for humans and wildlife. Due to their wide range of applications and over long-term use, POPs are now widely distributed around the globe.
What are their applications?
Many persistent organic pollutants are beneficial in a wide range of applications and therefore were widely used in pest and disease control, crop production, industry and in consumer products. Some of the POPs included in the Stockholm Convention list are DDT, dieldrin, endrin, chlordane, which are pesticides, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which is an industrial chemical that can be found in electrical equipment such as transformers, capacitors and fluorescent lighting ballasts.
What are the impacts on health and the environment?
POPs can have adverse effects for humans and wildlife at very low concentration (parts per billion (ppb) levels). They have also been detected in food around the world, which is the primary route of exposure for the general human population. POPs can cause cancer, allergies and hypersensitivity, damage to the central and peripheral nervous systems, reproductive disorders, and disruption of the immune system. POPs are resistant to degradation and remain in the environment for a long time.
