Ending Exposures to Highly Toxic Chemicals (POPs)

POPs are a broad category covering a wide range of toxic substances, including certain pesticides (like DDT), industrial chemicals (like PCBs), chemicals released by industrial production and from burning plastic and other wastes (like dioxins), PFAS “forever chemicals,” and many other hazardous chemicals. Even at very low levels of exposure, POPs have the potential to cause serious health problems. Studies have linked POPs to cancer, neurological disorders, learning disabilities, immune suppression, and infertility and other reproductive health disorders.

In addition to the Stockholm Convention, IPEN also contributes to the development and strengthening of two related global agreements: the Basel Convention, which regulates the international trade in chemicals and hazardous waste, and the Rotterdam Convention, which provides a process for informing countries when toxic chemicals or hazardous wastes are being sent across their borders.

Negotiations for the three chemicals and waste Conventions are held back-to-back every other year. Called the Conferences of Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS COPs), IPEN members from around the world engage in these policy negotiations and bring vital research and policy advocacy to inform delegates and shape stronger, more health-protective global policies. These policies can then serve as templates for national policy deliberations in IPEN members’ home countries.

IPEN also engages at the Stockholm Convention’s scientific expert body, the POPs Review Committee (POPRC), participating in meeting deliberations, informing the panel with the latest science, and advocating for global elimination of toxic threats.