Stockholm Convention

The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is a binding global treaty that protects human health and the environment from a group of dangerous man-made chemicals known as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). The convention bans or severely limits the production, use, and trade of 12 particularly toxic POPs, often referred to as the “dirty dozen.” These are the pesticides aldrin, chlordane, DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, mirex, and toxaphene; two industrial chemicals, polychlorinated biphenyls and hexachlorobenzene (which is also a pesticide); and two by-products of certain industrial processes and combustion, dioxins and furans. The convention also establishes criteria and procedures for placing controls on additional POPs, requires efforts to reduce emissions from other existing POPs, and seeks to prevent the development and commercial introduction of ...