7 million premature deaths per year from air pollution, including from invisible Persistent Organic Pollutants

Geneva, 5 June 2019

As public attention today focusses on air pollution through the marking of the UN World Environment Day, it is more important than ever to realise that not all air pollution - such as smog - is visible and that there are many invisible pollutants in our air, including highly toxic Persistent Organic Pollutants (or POPs).

Known to be long-lasting, highly transportable through air and water, and bio-accumulative – meaning that they become concentrated in fatty tissue ever-higher up the food chain - POPs are linked to many negative impacts upon human health and the environment including certain types of cancers, birth defects, dysfunctional immune and reproductive systems, greater susceptibility to disease and damages to the central and peripheral nervous systems.[i]

Since POPs are transported through water and through air, neither of which respect national boundaries, global actions are required to combat this form of pollution. To that end, countries came together to define and implement the Stockholm Convention (adopted in 2001, entered into force in 2004), which by now has 182 Parties who are required to take measures to eliminate or reduce the release of POPs into the environment.

Last month, at the latest meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Convention, Parties agreed to add two more toxic chemical groups to the list of POPs to be eliminated: namely Dicofol and Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and its salts and PFOA-related compounds. The latter has till now been used in a wide variety of industrial and domestic applications including non-stick cookware and food processing equipment, as well as a surfactant in textiles, carpets, paper, paints and fire-fighting foams.

The Stockholm Convention does not only deal with the reduction and elimination of these very toxic pollutants. It also makes provisions for monitoring the success of pollution reduction efforts, through its Global Monitoring Plan, which measures POPs concentrations around the world in the media of air, water, blood and breast milk, as well as working on the identification and development of alternatives to these chemicals.

Speaking on World Environment Day, the Deputy Executive Secretary of the Stockholm Convention, Carlos Martin-Novella, remarked that “Activities around the world today rightly remind us that air pollution is an enormous health problem, and silent killer, worldwide. But not all air pollution is as visible as the clouds of smog which sit over some of our cities. POPs are largely invisible to the eye and yet are amongst the most toxic substances known to humankind, travelling through air and water and ending up in the most remote environments, and in our bodies through the food-chain and through environmental exposure. We need to make the invisible, visible, and to that end the Stockholm Convention brings together countries who strive for a POPs-free future.”

Notes for Editors:

The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from chemicals that remain intact in the environment for long periods, become widely distributed geographically, accumulate in the fatty tissue of humans and wildlife, and have harmful impacts on human health or on the environment. Exposure to Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) can lead to serious health effects including certain cancers, birth defects, dysfunctional immune and reproductive systems, greater susceptibility to disease and damage to the central and peripheral nervous systems. The Convention requires its Parties to take measures to eliminate or reduce the release of POPs into the environment. As of today, this legally-binding Convention has 182 Parties, giving it almost universal coverage. As of the end of this COP, 30 chemicals of global concern are listed under the Stockholm Convention. See www.pops.int

Listing of Chemicals: Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) under the Stockholm Convention

The two new chemicals listed in Annex A to the Stockholm Convention are the pesticide Dicofol, and Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) its salts and PFOA-related compounds (some applications with time-limited exemptions). Listing in Annex A to the Convention obliges Parties to eliminate these chemicals from production and use. The two chemicals are listed on the basis of a robust review process addressing risks, management options and alternatives by the UN’s POPs Review Committee. Dicofol is used as a miticide on a variety of field crops, fruits, vegetables, ornamentals and tea and coffee and is known to cause skin irritation and hyperstimulation of nerve transmissions in humans as well as being highly toxic to fish, aquatic invertebrates, algae and birds. PFOA is a widely-used industrial chemical used in the production of non-stick cookware and food processing equipment, as well as a surfactant in textiles, carpets, paper, paints and fire-fighting foams. As a substance of very high concern, it is known to be linked to major health problems including kidney cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid disease and hypertension in pregnancy. More information on these chemicals is available in factsheets.

  • For BRS conventions general media enquiries see: www.brsmeas.org or contact:
    Charlie AVIS, Public Information Officer (UN Environment), Geneva +41-79-730-4495