Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
What about long-range transmission of this kind of pollution to the other
organic pollutant (POP compounds such as aldrin, chlordane, dieldrin, DDT,
endrin, heptachlor, mirex, toxaphene), 'possess toxic properties, resist degra-
dation, bioaccumulate and are transported through air, water and migratory
species, across international boundaries and deposited far from their place of
release, where they accumulate in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems'.
Persistent organic pollutants behave according to the so-called 'grasshopper
effect'. They 'jump' towards the north in line with their grade of volatility.
They evaporate in warm conditions and are transmitted by air currents
towards colder areas in the north. If rain fl ushes them down to the soil, they
do not degrade but evaporate again to be transmitted by air currents towards
the north. They concentrate in the cold environment, ending up in the soil
and unable to evaporate again.
In this way, POP compounds have been detected in the Arctic where they
are rarely if ever used or produced. Plants and animals absorb POP compounds
which gradually reach the predators at the top of the food chain. Many of
these top predators are hunted and eaten by Arctic indigenous peoples. This is
why Inuit women in Greenland feature exceptionally high polychlorinated
biphenyl (PCB) concentrations even though the Inuit neither produce nor use
PCBs. Furthermore, because many of the POP compounds are toxic, they
could be harmful to the foetus of a pregnant woman.
John Buccini, the chairman of the negotiations leading up to the Stockholm
POP Convention, kept a sculpture of an Inuit woman holding a baby on his
desk in order to emphasize the importance of reducing these harmful
substances for future generations. For these reasons, the Stockholm POPs
Convention contains a preambulary paragraph referring to the Arctic: 'The
parties to the Convention acknowledge … that the Arctic ecosystems and
indigenous communities are particularly at risk because of the biomagnifi ca-
tion of persistent organic pollutants and that contamination of their traditional
foods is a public health issue.'
The LRTAP treaty system is one mechanism whereby POP compounds
can be controlled regionally: each country is given a reduction quota for each
particular harmful substance. A system like this means that precise data is
required as to the quantity of trans-border transmission of these harmful
substances: that is, it requires a scientifi c cooperation network like the moni-
toring and evaluation programme EMEP.
To implement a similar programme on a global scale would be unrealistic.
The Stockholm Convention therefore concentrates on prohibiting the
production and use of POP compounds and on the control of their import and
export in international trade. The objective of the Convention is to end the
production and use of deliberately manufactured POP compounds through
prohibiting the production and use, and with certain exceptions the import
and export, of the chemicals listed in Annex A. The production, use, import
and export of chemicals listed in Annex B are limited.
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