PANNA: Resource Pointer #383: Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

Resource Pointer #383: Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
May 3, 2005

For copies of the following resources, please contact the appropriate publishers or organizations directly.

The IPEN Global Week of Action & COP1 Handbook, 2005* International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN). Published for the First Conference of Parties (COP1) to the Stockholm Convention on POPs in Uruguay May 2-6, 2005. This handbook outlines four critical topics of discussion at the meeting: minimizing POPs by-products, disposing of POPs waste, preparing national dioxin inventory, and adding additional POPs to the convention. Also includes information on the IPEN "Keep the Promise" campaign, which urges nations to fully implement the treaty. Available as a free download at: http://ipen.ecn.cz/index.php?z=&l=en&k=news&r=viewtxt&id=105&id_rubriky=2. Contact IPEN International Coordinator, Bjorn Beeler; phone +1 (202) 785-8700; email BjornBeeler@ipen.org. Contact website http://www.ipen.org/.

*Persistent Organic Pollutants: A Global Issue, A Global Response, 2002* US EPA. This booklet was created to raise awareness about the health and environmental impacts of (POPs), to show what actions the United States and some other countries have taken to address these pollutants, and to describe the actions set into motion by the Stockholm Convention to address this issue globally. 23 pages. Available as a free download at http://www.epa.gov/oia/toxics/brochure.html. Contact U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of International Affairs (2610R), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20460; phone (202) 564-6613; fax (202) 565-2411 or (202) 565-2408; email oiainternet-comments@epa.gov; website http://www.epa.gov/oia/.

*Ban Lindane Now! Web site* http://www.panna.org/Lindane, an organochlorine pesticide is a candidate for addition to the list of banned chemicals under the Stockholm Convention because of its persistence in the environment and in people. This website contains information about lindane, safer alternatives, targeted state campaigns to ban the chemical, and ways to get involved. Contact Pesticide Action Network North America, 49 Powell Street, Suite 500, San Francisco, CA 94102; phone (415) 981-6205; fax (415) 981-1991; email panna@panna.org. (Our main PANNA web site is currently offline. We anticipate it to be available again by Wednesday, May 4, 2005.)

*Stockholm Convention: New POPs, Screening Additional POPs Candidates, 2005* World Wildlife Fund. Lists 20 chemicals that WWF recommends for addition to the Stockholm Convention. The report focuses on how specific POPs--pesticides, brominated flame retardants, perfluorinated compounds--meet the screening criteria. All POPs share four characteristics: they are toxic; they are persistent; they accumulate in body fat; they can travel great distances. Available as a free download at http://www.worldwildlife.org/toxics/pubs.cfm/.Contact Lin Li, World Wildlife Fund; 1250 24th Street, NW; Washington DC 20037; phone (202) 778-9627; fax (202) 530-0743; website http://www.worldwildlife.org/toxics/; email lin.li@wwfus.org.

We encourage those interested in having resources listed in the PANUPS Resource Pointer to send review copies of publications, videos or other resources to our office.

PANUPS is a weekly email news service providing resource guides and reporting on pesticide issues that don't always get coverage by the mainstream media. It's produced by Pesticide Action Network North America, a non-profit and non-governmental organization working to advance sustainable alternatives to pesticides worldwide.

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