Persistent organic pollutant
A persistent organic pollutant (POP) is an organic compound that is only slowly degraded in the environment, so that it tends to persist and even to accumulate rather than being broken down by photochemical or biological processes. Accumulation can occur either in the environment (eg, in sediments) or in the tissue of animal or plant species (bioaccumulation).
Public concern about persistent organic pollutants was first raised in the early 1960s with the publication of the book Silent Spring (1962) by U.S. author Rachel Carson (1907–64), which led to the banning of DDT for agricultural use in the United States in 1972. The U.S. and several other countries have regulated POPs on a case-by-case basis since then. A more systematic approach to the regulation of POP production and use can be found in the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, signed in 2001, and the European Union REACH Regulation (1907/2006).[1]
Definitions
A persistent organic pollutant could simply be defined in terms of its persistence in the environment, which would include substances such as crude oil. However, it is more normal also to take account of the potential for bioaccumulation and any toxicity associated with the substance. Candidates for regulation under the Stockholm Convention or the REACH Regulation are usually either PBT substances (persistent, bioaccumulative, toxic) or vPvB substances (very persistent, very bioaccumulative).
| Stockholm Convention[2] | REACH Regulation[3][note 1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Persistence |
|
P |
|
| vP |
| ||
| Bioaccumulation |
|
B | bioconcentration factor for aquatic species > 2000. |
| vB | bioconcentration factor for aquatic species > 5000. | ||
| Long-range environmental transport (LRET) | evidence of LRET potential by air, water or migratory species, from either
For transport by air, the half-life in air should be > 2 days. |
not taken into account | |
| Toxicity | evidence for the potential for damage to human health or to the environment, either direct or through laboratory studies. |
| |
Notes and references
Notes
- ↑ The modification to the REACH Regulation introduced by Art. 58.15 of the CLP Regulation will come into force on 1 December 2010: the original criteria – based on the Dangerous Substances Directive (67/546/EEC) – are almost identical to the new criteria.
References
- ↑ Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), establishing a European Chemicals Agency, amending Directive 1999/45/EC and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 793/93 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1488/94 as well as Council Directive 76/769/EEC and Commission Directives 91/155/EEC, 93/67/EEC, 93/105/EC and 2000/21/EC, OJEU L396, 30.12.2006, pp 1–849.
- ↑ Annex D, Stockholm Convention.
- ↑ Annex XIII, REACH Regulation, at pp 383–85, as modified by Art. 58.15, CLP Regulation, at p 32.
- ↑ Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures, amending and repealing Directives 67/548/EEC and 1999/45/EC, and amending Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006. OJEU L353, 31.12.2008, pp 1–1355.
External links
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See also the corresponding article on Wikipedia. |
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