This is the next horizon for technology.. to render them harmless. They are a huge cost to industry.............. Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are chemical substances that persist in the environment, bioaccumulate through the food web, and pose a risk of causing adverse effects to human health and the environment. With the evidence of long-range transport of these substances to regions where they have never been used or produced and the consequent threats they pose to the environment of the whole globe, the international community has now, at several occasions called for urgent global actions to reduce and eliminate releases of these chemicals. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are carbon containing chemical compounds that, to a varying degree, resist photochemical, biological and chemical degradation. POPs are often halogenated and characterise by low water solubility and high lipid solubility, leading, together with their persistence, to bioacumulation in fatty tissues. They are also semi-volatile, a property which permits these compounds either to vaporise or to be adsorbed on atmospheric particles. They therefore undergo long range transport in air and water from warmer to colder regions of the world. Although many different chemicals, both natural and anthropogenic (i.e. produced by man), may be defined as POPs, 12 POPs, all chlorine-containinig organic compounds, have been chosen as priority pollutants by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for their impact on human health and environment. The twelve POPs include many of the first generation organochlorine insecticides, e.g. DDT, aldrin, industrial chemical products, e.g. PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) or, unwanted by-products such as dioxins and furans. Most POPs may persist in the environment for periods of several years and may bioconcentrate up to ten thousands fold. These properties of unusual high persistence and semi-volatility, coupled with other characteristics, have resulted in the presence of POPs all over the world, even in regions where they have never been used. POPs are ubiquitous. They have been measured on every continent, at sites representing every major climatic zone and geographic region throughout the world. These include remote regions, where no significant local sources exist and the only reasonable explanation for their presence is long-range transport from other parts of the globe. POPs have been found, on a global scale, in soils, sediments, in the fat of fish and terrestrial animals, as well as in human breast milk. Some of the highest levels have been recorded in the polar areas of both the hemispheres. Humans are generally exposed to POPs through the ingestion of food. A growing body of scientific evidence associates human exposure to individual POPs with cancer, neurotoxic, behavioural, reproductive effects, immutoxicity and other effects. The mechanism for many of these effects appears to be through disruption of the human endocrine system. Humans appear to be extraordinary sensitive to these chemicals during fetal development.(WFPHA, World Federation of Public Health Association, 2000). continued. http://www.chem.unep.ch/gpa_trial/01what.htm
Chinese pollution kills off 80% of coral in So. China Sea... Chinas boom bangs up coral reefs Fri, Dec 28, 2012 - Chinas economic boom has seen its coral reefs shrink by at least 80 percent over the past 30 years, a joint Australian study found yesterday, with researchers describing grim levels of damage and loss.
Why is this a Current Event? We almost wiped out the Bald Eagle along with several other birds back in the 60s with DDT. Remember Silent Spring back in the Kennedy Administration?
Utah air pollution makin' people sick... Sickening fog settles over Salt Lake City area Jan 23,`13 -- A group of Utah doctors is declaring a health emergency over the Salt Lake City area's lingering air pollution problem.
I don't know. I always see this huge pit when I fly in there, I'm told it's the worlds' largest copper mine. Surely a littany of chemicals are used in processing copper. On the other hand, I'm not sure what processing is done there or near there. In the end, it takes A LOT to surprise me anymore.
Air pollution contributes to premature deaths... Study: Air Pollution Causes 200,000 Early Deaths in US August 29, 2013 > Air pollution causes about 200,000 early deaths each year in the United States, according to a new study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
