Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants
The 2001 Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from harmful chemicals that remain intact in the environment for long periods, become widely distributed geographically, and accumulate in the fatty tissue of humans and wildlife. These chemicals, known as persistent organic pollutants (POPs), include PCBs, DDT, and dioxins. They can lead to serious health effects including certain cancers, birth defects, dysfunctional immune and reproductive systems, greater susceptibility to disease, and damages to the central and peripheral nervous systems. Given their long-range transport, no government acting alone can protect its citizens or its environment from POPs. In response to this global problem, the Stockholm Convention requires its parties to take measures to eliminate or reduce the release of POPs into the environment.
Events
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Face-to-Face Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS COPs)
The Basel Convention flexed its institutional muscle, while the Rotterdam Convention managed to add just two of the seven chemicals proposed to its prior informed consent procedure. The Stockholm Convention continued to list new chemicals, but it now faces the downstream consequences of that success: new chemicals bring added implementation challenges.
17th Meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee to the Stockholm Convention (POPRC-17)
The Committee successfully adopted decisions on all six chemicals under review and either moved them on to the next stage of the review process or adopted recommendations to the Conference of the Parties to list them under the Stockholm Convention.
2021 Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS COPs)
Parties and stakeholders to the three global hazardous chemicals and wastes conventions convened online to deal with urgent operational and substantive work including election of officers, the programmes of work and budgets for all three conventions, and a decision regarding the Stockholm Convention’s financial mechanism.
16th Meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee to the Stockholm Convention (POPRC-16)
With three potential persistent organic pollutants (POPs) under review and substantial technical work related to implementation of its past recommendations, the Committee successfully completed its full pre-COVID-19 pandemic agenda to avoid delaying action on issues that pose risks to human health and/or the environment.
15th Meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee to the Stockholm Convention (POPRC-15)
The Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee reviewed three chemicals nominated for listing in Annexes A, B, and/or C to the Stockholm Convention: the insecticide methoxychlor, the industrial chemical Dechlorane Plus (and its syn-isomer and anti-isomer), and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), its salts, and related compounds.