Eliminating the dirty dozen: a WECF and IPEN report on the elimination of Persistant Organic Pollutants (POPs)
"Dioxins in breastmilk and PCB’s in Eskimo blood-samples show that toxic chemicals accumulate in the Human system through our foodchain, even in the least industrialized regions. Since a few years, 122 countries have been preparing an internationally binding treaty to eliminate 12 of the worst...
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| Institution: | ETUI-European Trade Union Institute |
| Format: | TEXT |
| Language: | English |
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Utrecht
2004
WECF |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19293993124910111759-eliminating-the-dirty-dozen-a-.htm |
| Summary: | "Dioxins in breastmilk and PCB’s in Eskimo blood-samples show that toxic chemicals accumulate in the Human system through our foodchain, even in the least industrialized regions. Since a few years, 122 countries have been preparing an internationally binding treaty to eliminate 12 of the worst bio-accumulative toxins, the so-called ‘dirty dozen’. The dirty dozen belong to the group of ”persistent organic pollutants” (POPs) and include chemicals such as dioxins, PCBs and DDT. POPs are suspected to cause cancer, auto-immune diseases as well as birth defects and developmental disorders of children.
POPs enter our body primarily through what we eat, particularly products which are at the high end of our foodchain such as meat, fish, diary products and animal fat. Many products have ‘hidden’ sources of POPs, e.g. fish-oil is often very contaminated and is used in a great number of food products such as cookies and sweets. Women accumulate these POPs in their body-fat and give these toxins to their babies during pregnancy and breastfeeding." |
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| Physical Description: | 64 p. Paper Digital |