Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Climate change increases vulnerability to persistent organic pollutants

Environmental Expert via UNEP: Climate change increases the planet's vulnerability to persistent organic pollutants (POPs), a UN research team concluded in a major study previewed in Cancun, Tuesday. The study, 'Climate Change and POPs Inter-Linkages', was conducted by climate and chemical experts from 12 countries, and is the first systematic and authoritative review of the impact of climate change on the release of POPs into the environment, their long range transport and environmental fate, and human and environmental exposure.

POPs are substances that are persistent and toxic and can affect generations of humans. Exposure to POPs is known to effect health and can be the source of cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders and cancer. Some POPs are also considered to be endocrine disrupters and by altering the hormonal system, can also damage human reproductive and immune systems.

Climate change, and the changes in temperature, impact the exposure of humans and wildlife to POPs and will also affect biodiversity, ecosystems and vulnerability. Among the major conclusions of the study, increased emissions and the increased availability of POPs to enter the food chain leads to bio-magnification which happens when certain chemicals become concentrated in organisms as they move into and up the food chain, threatening the health of humans and animals.

'Climate change increases the planet's vulnerability to persistent organic pollutants, by increasing emissions and the bio-availability of POPs, and thus the potential for bio-magnification through the food chain, one of the chief pathways of human exposure to POPs,' said Katarína Magulová, Programme Officer of the Secretariat of the Stockholm Convention….

Dandelion lifts concrete, shot by Nino Barbieri, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

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