China
Africa
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
Public Health Risks Posed by Waste Pollution and Chemical Exposure and Legal Responses in International and EU Law
Published in Stefania Negri, Environmental Health in International and EU Law, 2019
In the same vein, the Stockholm Convention is a global treaty that focussed on the protection of human health and the environment from highly dangerous, long-lasting chemicals by restricting and ultimately eliminating their production, use, trade, release and storage. Based on the precautionary approach, it aimed to protect human health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that remain intact in the environment for long periods.26 In particular, this Convention distinguishes between substances the production of which should be prohibited or eliminated at national level (Annex A), substances subject to less stringent restrictions (Annex B) and substances that can be formed and released unintentionally because of chemical processes and combustion (Annex C). It also distinguishes between substances whose import/export is forbidden and substances that can be exported or imported except for the purpose of environmentally sound waste management. More specifically, the Stockholm Convention, along with the Rotterdam Convention, was adopted in the framework of the United Nations after the 1992 Rio Summit and the commitments of the abovementioned Agenda 21 and Johannesburg Implementation Plan,27 which put in evidence the issue of ‘compliance with laws, regulations and standards that were adopted’.28 The goal was to complete a synergistic process on the specific topic of hazardous waste, although at a considerable distance of time from the Basel Convention.
Pollutants for Herbal Drugs
Published in Ravindra Kumar Pandey, Shiv Shankar Shukla, Amber Vyas, Vishal Jain, Parag Jain, Shailendra Saraf, Fingerprinting Analysis and Quality Control Methods of Herbal Medicines, 2018
Ravindra Kumar Pandey, Shiv Shankar Shukla, Amber Vyas, Vishal Jain, Parag Jain, Shailendra Saraf
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are chemical substances that persist in the environment, bio-accumulate 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 on several occasions called for urgent global action to reduce and eliminate releases of these chemicals. The use of persistent pesticides, such as DDT and benzene hexachloride (BHC), in agriculture has been banned for many years in many countries. However, they are still found in the areas where they were previously used and often contaminate medicinal plants growing nearby.
Global environmental change and health
Published in Kevin McCracken, David R. Phillips, Global Health, 2017
Kevin McCracken, David R. Phillips
Dioxins are one of the so-called POPs – persistent organic pollutants. Other well-known POPs include DDT, PCBs, chlordane, dieldrin and heptachlor. As their group name suggests, POPs last a long time in the environment, resisting natural processes of degradation, and are among the most dangerous pollutants released by human activities. POPs can be transported large distances by wind and water and migratory species, so those generated in one country can contaminate soil (and water) and affect wildlife and people in distant other parts of the world. A range of serious human health effects have been associated with POPs, among them cancers, neurological damage, reproductive disorders, developmental problems and immune system disruption. POPs accumulate in the fat tissues of living organisms and biomagnify with movement up the food chain. Human exposure to POPs is mainly through contaminated foods. In 2004, a United Nations Treaty to eliminate or restrict the production and use of POPs (The Stockholm Convention; United Nations, 2001) came into effect, and by early 2011 more than 170 nations had become parties to the convention.
Evaluating the histomorphological and biochemical changes induced by Tributyltin Chloride on pituitary-testicular axis of adult albino rats and the possible ameliorative role of hesperidin
Published in Ultrastructural Pathology, 2023
Sahar F. Shaban, Maha A. Khattab, Samar H. Abd El Hameed, Shaimaa A. Abdelrahman
Although the usage of TBT has been prohibited since 2008, it is still used in some developing countries. It binds strongly to organic compounds and sediment that subsequently may remain for decades.16 According to Champ and Seligman,17 the half-life of TBT ranges from hundreds of days to tens of years in anaerobic sediments. TBT continues to persist in the environment leading to severe contamination of the ecosystem. This is usually because of the very slow rate of environmental degradation of TBT.18–20 Considered as one of the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) that can enter the body through food chain, contaminated water or even dermal exposure, TBT can affect many endocrine organs in the body.20 Exposure of mammals to TBT has been shown to cause increased incidences of tumors, decreased natural killer (NK) cell function, thymic atrophy, and thymus-dependent immunosuppression.14
Does the environment affect menopause? A review of the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals on menopause
Published in Climacteric, 2023
Organic chemicals that persist in the environment with little degradation are known as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). A broad and diverse category, POPs include organochlorine pesticides, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) used in flame retardants, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins used in plastics, paints and coolants as well as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are fossil fuel combustion byproducts. While the production of some POPs, such as PCBs, has been prohibited, these chemicals have long half-lives and persist in the environment [49]. Due to their ability to leach out of their original products and persist in nature, these chemicals are everywhere in our environment, and humans can be exposed through dietary consumption of contaminated animal products and water or inhalation of air and indoor dust [49].
Age at menarche and chemical exposure: per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT), dichloro-diphenyl-dichloroethylene (DDE), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
Published in Annals of Human Biology, 2023
Lawrence M. Schell, Casey N. West
Most human populations are exposed to a variety of chemicals in large or small quantities depending on the environments in which they have lived (Sexton et al. 2004). Exposure occurs throughout the lifecycle in both the prenatal and postnatal periods and from a variety of sources (e.g., air and water pollution and/or ingestion of foods with insecticides and pesticides). In the US alone, many new chemicals are introduced every year. There were more than 60,000 substances in circulation after the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was enacted in 1976, which increased to over 80,000 when the TSCA was amended in 2016 (Bergeson 2019). Of these 80,000, many have not been tested for safety (Bergeson 2019). There is concern not only about the tested chemicals but the untested ones also. The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) is a multilateral environmental agreement among over 190 nations to protect human health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants.