The persistent organic pollutant group of organic compounds have several key characteristics that make them difficult to handle. They are resistant to degradation which includes chemical, biological and photolytic processes. This means that they remain in the environment for a long time and can pass into the food chain through several mechanisms.
They accumulate in the fatty tissues of living organisms such as fish, animals and humans and are toxic to health and to the environment. They have been implicated in many health problems such as cancers and reproductive system damage. Further to this, POPs have been found far from the site or original emission and can travel long distances by air, water, and transfer from other species.
POPs have a wide variety of applications including pesticides, industrial chemicals, and by-products of industrial processes. The manufacture, sale, and use of POPs has been banned in the UK, but due to their resistance to degradation and their ease of transfer, a ban is not as simple solution to the problem as it may seem.
