Persistent Organic Pollutants
Humans are exposed daily to numerous chemicals that can harm their health
Many harmful organic compounds are stable in the environment (atmosphere, water, soil, food chain) for long periods → Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
- Characterised by stability, mobility, and bioaccumulation
- Harmful to human health and produce ecological damage
Stockholm Convention (May 2001): over 90 countries promised to reduce or eliminate the production, use, and release of 12 key POPs – the “dirty dozen”.
12 Key POPs – the dirty dozen
The Dirty Dozen are produced for use as insecticides, fungicides, chemical additives, or are inadvertently produced during combustion. A biocide is a substance toxic to varying degrees to life forms:
–Either synthesised deliberately to target and kill specific organisms – general name pesticide
–Or may be inadvertently produced
Pesticides: insecticide, bactericide, fungicide, herbicide
A pesticide designed to eliminate all types of living organisms is called a fumigant or sterilant