Parma (Italy),
12 March 2010 – The UNEP Stockholm Convention
Secretariat has announced a major international
study into the influence of climate change
and persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
on human health and the environment.
POPs are substances
that are persistent, bioaccumulative and
toxic and can affect generations of humans.
Some POPs are also considered to be endocrine
disrupters, which, by altering the hormonal
system, can damage the reproductive and
immune systems of exposed individuals as
well as their offspring. POPs can also have
developmental and carcinogenic effects.
Among sensitive populations,
children, the elderly, and people whose
immune systems are suppressed are typically
more susceptible to many kinds of pollutants,
including POPs.
Announced to coincide
with the 5th Environment and Health Ministerial
Conference in Parma, Italy (10-12 March
2010), the study will involve more than
10 organizations in five countries reviewing
the latest science to inform the assessment
of current and new POPs.
Some data suggest that
higher temperatures can make wildlife more
sensitive to exposure to certain pollutants,
Dr. Fatoumata Keita-Ouane, the UNEP scientist
leading the study of POPs and Climate Change,
said. In the Arctic region, climate change
can be expected to alter the exposure levels
of marine mammals such as seals or the polar
bear through a variety of means including
changes in long-range atmospheric and oceanographic
transport along with biotransport and the
melting of the ice caps.
"Exposures to POPs
in combination with other factors, such
as the expanding range of disease vectors
and immune suppression, could also have
a detrimental effect on certain organisms,
the food web and biodiversity," Dr.
Keita-Ouane said.
Increase in the levels
of POPs found in air and water due to releases
from melting ice and snow, combined with
possibly higher emissions induced by climate
change would augment the vulnerability of
exposed organisms including humans, either
directly or through the food chain, resulting
in greater adverse impacts on human health
and the environment.
The study will provide
an overview to give the scientific community
and policy makers a better understanding
of the effects of climate change on emissions,
environmental distribution, toxicity and
exposure to POPs.
The outcomes of the
12-month study are expected to result in
policy recommendations on how to mitigate
the impacts of POPs under Europe's - and
the globe's - changing climate.
The study will be conducted
with partners from the Arctic Monitoring
and Assessment Programme (AMAP), Environment
Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, University
of Bern, the European Monitoring and Evaluation
Programme (EMEP), University of Texas, Laval
University (Canada), University of Concepción
(Chile), International POPs Elimination
Network (IPEN), and other institutions.
The objective of the
Stockholm Convention is to protect human
health and the environment from POPs.
For more information:
Please see the Stockholm Convention secretariat's
newly released brochure, Climate Change
and POPs, at www.pops.int.
