POPs Under Consideration
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are organic chemical substances, that is, they are carbon-based. They possess a particular combination of physical and chemical properties such that, once released into the environment, they:
- remain intact for exceptionally long periods of time (many years);
- become widely distributed throughout the environment as a result of natural processes involving soil, water and, most notably, air;
- accumulate in the fatty tissue of living organisms including humans, and are found at higher concentrations at higher levels in the food chain; and
- are toxic to both humans and wildlife.
(Reference:http://chm.pops.int)
POPs Under Consideration
- Dicofol
- Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and PFOA-related compounds
- Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), its salts and PFHxS-related compounds