Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) released into environment by human activity are highly toxic chemicals that kill and injure people and wildlife by inducing cancer, and by damaging the nervous, reproductive and immune systems, it could also cause birth defects.
To control release of POPs, Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants 2001 would become legally binding on May 17, which was announced by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) disclosed sources here on Saturday.
According to them, the countdown to the treaty's entry into force was triggered on February 17, when France became the 50th state to ratify the agreement. Governments would pursue a rapid start to action under the treaty when they would meet for the first session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention (COP 1) in Punta del Este, Uruguay, in early 2005. One of this meeting's priorities would be to assist countries to combat malaria by replacing DDT with the increasingly safe and effective alternatives.
The COP would also establish a Committee for evaluating other chemicals and pesticides that could be added to the initial target list of 12 POPs: aldrin, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, mirex, toxaphene, polychlorinated biphenols or PCBs, hexachlorobenzene, dioxins and furans. Another key goal for the COP would be to finalise guidelines for promoting "best environmental practices" and "best available techniques" that could reduce or eliminate releases of dioxins and furans from a wide range of industrial and other sources.
The sources maintained that every human in the world carries traces of these chemicals in their bodies. POPs were highly stable compounds that could last for years or decades before breaking down.
"They circulate globally through a process known as the "grasshopper effect". Though not soluble in water, POPs were readily absorbed in fatty tissue, where concentrations could become magnified by up to 70,000 times in the background levels.
POPs were dangerous to people working with pesticides or living near POPs sources, particularly in developing countries, where a lack of equipment and expertise leads to accidental exposures," they added.
According to them, most of the 12 chemicals would be banned immediately.
However, the use of DDT for disease vector control under World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines was considered an acceptable purpose because it was still essential in many countries to control malaria transmission by mosquitoes. This would permit governments to protect their citizens from malaria until they were able to replace DDT with chemical and non-chemical alternatives that were cost-effective and environmentally friendly.
Sources disclosed that in addition to banning uses, the treaty focuses on cleaning up the growing accumulation of unwanted and obsolete stockpiles of pesticides and toxic chemicals.
They said, "Governments have until 2025 to phase out these uses, which gives them time to arrange for PCB-free replacements. Not later than 2028, governments must dispose of these PCBs in an environmentally sound manner. Fortunately, there are alternatives to POPs.
The problem was often that high costs, a lack of public awareness, and the absence of appropriate infrastructure and technology have often prevented their adoption.
Solutions must be tailored to the specific properties and uses of each chemical, as well as to each country's climatic and socio-economic conditions. To ensure that such solutions are exploited, donors have pledged to contribute hundreds of millions of dollars in new funding over the next several years."
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