The group of the 12 toxic chemicals called the POPs (Persistent Organic Pollutants) consists of pesticides (DDT, Lindan, etc.), industrial chemicals (PCBs) and by-products (dioxins and furans), which are unintentionally formed and released from thermal processes involving organic matter and chlorine as a result of incomplete combustion or chemical reactions.
A convention regulating the prohibition of these 12 chemicals was signed in Stockholm in May 2001 by 90 states. 151 countries have signed the «Stockholm Convention» in the meantime. 89 countries have already ratified it - also Switzerland . The «Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants» entered into force on 17 May 2004 .
POPs are still being produced, distributed and used in some developing and transition countries and they accumulate in industrial sites. POPs can be found in every part of the world. They are persistent and transported through air - by evaporation and re-condensing, the so called «global distillation» - from warm areas near the equator to the poles or colder regions. Melted snow and ice take them to the seas, where POPs accumulate in plankton and finally bio accumulate in people and animals at the end of the food chain. High contaminations are found in fish seals, polar bears and birds. Arctic communities are particularly at risk because of the contamination of their traditional foods.
The harm that POPs cause to people, animals and the environment are difficult to estimate. POPs are certainly carcinogen and it is assumed that they affect the genetic make-up as well as the immune and nervous system. POPs do not know any boundaries and are found in parts of the world where they have never been used before. They are a typical global environmental problem.
ETI successfully carried out POP projects in the Former Republic of Yugoslavia, Hong Kong, Kenya, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Africa and Zambia. For further information please consult ETI's references.