Aquatic Pollution and Coastal Management

Unit 4 : Pesticide pollution

4.9.Persistent Organic Pollutants
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are organic compounds that are resistant to environmental degradation through chemical, biological and photolytic processes. Because of this they have been observed to persist in the environment, are capable of long-range transport, bioaccumulate in human and animal tissues and have potential significant impacts on human health and the environment.

In May 1995, the UNEP Governing Council decided to begin investigating POPs, initially beginning with a short-list of twelve POPs: aldrin, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, hexachlorobenzene, mirex, polychlorinated biphenyls, polychlorined dibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans and toxaphene.

Since then this list has generally been accepted to include such substances as carcinogenic PAHs, and certain brominated flame- retardants, as well as some organometallic compounds such as tributyltin (TBT).

The groups of compounds that make up POPs are also called as PBTs (persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic) or even TOMPs (toxic organic micro pollutants).