| Summary: | This technical support document is aimed at informing decision makers, general academia, and the public on the scientific foundation and relevance to the United States of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). POPs are a small group of organic chemicals exhibiting the combined properties of persistence, bioaccumulation, toxicity, and long-range environmental transport. This small group of chemicals have been major contributors to toxic environmental pollution in the United States and worldwide, with elevated levels now being found in what had been thought pristine, uncontaminated environments, notably the Arctic and remote oceans. The Stockholm Convention on POPs was signed by Governor Whitman on behalf of the United States in May, 2001, and has been submitted by President Bush to the U.S. Congress for ratification. Under the Convention, countries agree to reduce and/or eliminate the production, use, and release of the 12 POPs of greatest concern to the global community, and to establish a mechanism by which additional substances may be added to the Convention in the future. These 12 initial POPs are: aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, DDT, chlordane, heptachlor, mirex, toxaphene, hexachlorobenzene, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, and polychlorinated dibenzofurans. This report summarizes data available in the peer reviewed literature on these POPs, and provides an overview of the risks posed to United States ecosystems and citizenry.
|
|---|