Persistent organic pollutants POPs toxicity

Chlorinated micropoUutants are harmful for man and environment due to their toxicity, persistence, and bioaccumulation. Persistent compounds are very stable and difficult to get metabolized and mineralized by biological and chemical processes in the environment, and as a result, they have become ubiquitous in water, sediments, and the atmosphere bioaccumulation is the result of the lipophilicity of these compounds. Polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and -furans (PCDD/F) are not produced purposely like many of other chlorinated technical products, such as chlorinated biocides DDT, lindane, and toxaphene. The production and use of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), the dirty dozen has now been banned worldwide by the Stockholm protocol. It should be mentioned that about 3000 halogenated products have now been isolated as natural products in plants, microorganisms, and animals," but the total amount of these products is much smaller compared to xenobiotics. 

The so-called persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are the subject of the Rio Declaration (1994) and the Stockholm Convention (2001) these international agreements (yet to be ratified in all signatory countries, including the United States) call for the elimination from production of 12 persistent chemicals, including the chlorinated pesticides and PCBs mentioned above (all of which have already been eliminated from production in the United States). Current regulatory efforts in the European Union and the United States place emphasis on elimination or restriction of all PBTs (persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic chemicals). 

Governments from around the world agreed to eliminate or minimize use of toxic chemicals that persist in the environment, now called persistent organic pollutants (POPs), which include many chlorinated hydrocarbons such as DDT and PCBs. The accord allows some developing countries to continue using DDT for controlling malaria. It also allows use of PCBs in electrical equipment until 2025, provided the equipment is maintained to prevent leaks. 

Name persistent environmental contaminants (have various names depending on agency - i.e. US EPA persistent bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) or United Nations persistent organic pollutant (POP)... 

Persistent organic pollutants (POP), 747 Persistent toxic substances (PTS), 747 Personal care preparations, pharmaceuticals, 621... 

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a class of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and widespread environmental contaminants, some of which may exhibit toxic, carcinogenic and mutagenic effects Because of their low water solubility and hydrophobic nature, PAHs are partitioned... 

The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants commits the international community to protecting human health and the environment from harmful effects of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and aims to end global use and release of 12 most toxic POPs. 

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are organochlorine compounds widely used as pesticides and/or industrial chemicals. These chemicals share four common properties highly toxic, persistent, capable of long-range transport and bio-accumulation in the fatty tissues of living... 

The toxicity, bioaccumulative potential, and ecological impact of organohalogenated substances such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), polychlorinated d iben zo -pa ra - diox i n s (PCDDs), or polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) have been extensively reviewed.95 98 All are referred to as persistent organic pollutants (POPs), that is, chemical substances that remain in the environment, bioaccumulate through the food chain, and pose a risk to human health and the environment. The international community is calling for action to reduce and then eliminate the production or formation of these substances and to monitor their emission. In this case, the detectability obtainable by analytical methods should be very low, since the limits established for these residues are in the ng per liter range. 

Butter is concentrated milk fat, so any of the hormones or pesticides contained in the milk increase when it is made into butter. The Pesticide Action Network of North America ranks nonorganic butter as the food most contaminated with persistent organic pollutants (POPs), some of the most dangerous toxic chemicals. 

A number of potentially toxic metals have been reported in breast milk, including Cd, Hg, and Pb. Unlike the persistent organic pollutants (POPs), metals do not bind to the fat, and so they do not usually accumulate at concentrations higher in breast milk than in blood. As a result, infants are likely to be exposed to higher levels of toxic metals before birth than during breastfeeding. Nonetheless, knowledge of concentrations of potentially toxic metals in breast milk is important as an indication of both likely prenatal and postnatal exposure. 

REACH technical guidance documents (TGD) may prove instrumental for the future development of international guidance. Perhaps more importantly, substances subject to authorisation due to their persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) characteristics will also be proposed for inclusion on the International Persistent Organic Pollutant (POP) register or other international conventions... 

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