POPs

More than enough scientific evidence exists to demonstrate that POPs endanger wildlife and humans. POPs are known to stay in the environment long after their release and are known to migrate to places very far from their point of origin. They have been found to accumulate in the food chain and have a tendency to be stored in the body fats of humans and animals. The possibility of passing these chemical burdens to the offspring of animals and humans through breast milk is very real.

POPs have been blamed for grave public health problems including increase in the incidence of certain cancers. Other problems related to POPs exposure include reproductive abnormalities, learning disorders, and decreased immunity from diseases. POPs, especially dioxins, are assumed to have no safety levels for tolerance. Exposure to even very minute quantities (in the parts per trillion range) of this compound is enough to trigger a toxic effect, particularly in synergy with other chemicals.

The Stockholm Convention also identifies the primary sources of these PoPs and recommends the use of alternative processes and materials to prevent their formation in the first place. For example, municipal and medical waste incineration has been singled out in the treaty as a major source of dioxin emissions. Clearly, the way forward would be to support alternative approaches and technologies to deal with the waste problem, such as recycling, composting, and clean production.

While the adoption of the treaty represents a global victory over toxics pollution, the real challenge is how to match these goals of the agreement with concrete action. The treaty needs ratification by at least fifty member states for it to enter into force. Greenpeace Southeast Asia is working towards the treaty's immediate ratification especially by the governments in the ASEAN region.