From an environmental and health standpoint,Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are among the most dangerous known toxins. POPs are both potent carcinogens and neurotoxins. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, trace amounts of POPs are present in virtually all ecosystems worldwide. That means, that these chemicals invade the sources of our drinking water, drift on air currents into our backyards, and accumulate in our foods.

Persistent organic pollutants are organic (carbon-based) chemicals that do not break down, either chemically or biologically, in the environment. They are persistent, which means that they be found in the environment for decades and even centuries.

POPs only became an issue during the last century, as they are products and byproducts of human industrial processes. They include many pesticides, such as DDT and industrial products, like dioxins and PCBs.

Not only do POPs remain in the environment, they also have a tendency to accumulate in the fatty tissue of living animals and humans. Once in the fat tissue, POPs do not disappear. POPs have been found in human breast tissue, fish, meat, and dairy products worldwide.

POPs are able to move long distances in the environment, resulting in widespread distribution across the earth, including regions where they have never been used.

• DDT is an insecticide used primarily on agricultural crops like cotton. It is also used to control mosquitoes and other insects that carry diseases like malaria and typhus. DDT is banned in the U.S., but is still used in other countries.
• Aldrin and dieldrin are insecticides used for crops like corn, cotton, cantaloupes, spinach, soybeans, and sweet potatoes. They are also used for termite control. Both chemicals have been banned in the U.S.
• Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) are used for many industrial uses, including in electrical transformers, as paint additives, and in plastics. PCBs were banned in the 1970s in the U.S. although some PCBs are still permitted in some closed electrical systems and they remain in old electronic products and in waste sites.
• Dioxins are industrial byproducts, created during the production of some chlorine-based chemicals and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, and the bleaching of paper and textiles. Dioxins have no known use. They are now everywhere in the environment.
• Lindane is used for seed and wood treatment and as an insecticidal spray for a number of food crops. But the most common medical use of lindane in the U.S is medicated shampoo to control head lice. Lindane is not produced in Canada or the U.S., but both countries continue to import the pesticide.

Exposure to POPs has been linked to many health effects, including birth defects, immune system disorders, reproductive health disorders, endocrine and nervous system abnormalities, and cancers.

Because POPs are the product and by-products of industry, contamination is the highest in developed countries.

Although many POPs have been banned in the U.S. and other countries, many continue to be used around the world. This makes us all unsafe.

The United Nations Environment Programme recently sponsored an international agreement to phase out production, use, and release of POPs (December 2000). Twelve POPs have been identified as initial phaseout targets under the new treaty.

While most of the persistent organic pollutants targeted for global elimination under this treaty have been banned in the United States, these POPs continue to make their way into the food supply and environment due to use outside of the U.S.

In fact, virtually all food products are contaminated with residues of POPs now banned in the U.S., according to Nowhere to Hide: Persistent Toxic Chemicals in the U.S. Food Supply by Pesticide Action Network North America and Commonweal (March 2001). The report states it is not unusual for our daily diets to contain food items contaminated with three to seven POPs.

Organizations worldwide are working to eliminate POPs in our environment. The Pesticide Action Network is an international coalition of more than 400 citizens groups in more than 60 countries working to urge the elimination of POPs by promoting the POP treaty.

For tips on how to keep your family's exposure to POPs low, see POPs: 10 Ways to Minimize Your Exposure.
See also: Persistent Organic Pollutants Increase Risk of Several Cancers: Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, Multiple Myeloma, and Cancer in Children

Pesticide Action Network

Physicians for Social Responsibility

The United Nations Environment Programme Site on POPs