WHAT ARE POPs?

POPs are organic chemical substances, that is, they are carbon-based.  They possess a particular combination of physical and chemical properties such that, once released into the environment, they:

• remain intact for exceptionally long periods of time (many years);
• become widely distributed throughout the environment as a result of natural processes involving soil, water and, most notably, air;
• accumulate in the fatty tissue of living organisms including humans, and are found at higher concentrations at higher levels in the food chain; and
• are toxic to both humans and wildlife.

As a result of releases to the environment over the past several decades due especially to human activities, POPs are now widely distributed over large regions (including those where POPs have never been used) and, in some cases, they are found around the globe.  This extensive contamination of environmental media and living organisms includes many foodstuffs and has resulted in the sustained exposure of many species, including humans, for periods of time that span generations, resulting in both acute and chronic toxic effects.

Twelve specific POPs have been recognized as causing adverse effects on humans and the ecosystem and these can be placed in 3 categories:

• pesticides: DDT, aldrin, chlordane, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, hexachlorobenzene, mirex, toxaphene);

• industrial chemicals: polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs; and

• industrial by-products: polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (usually referred to as dioxins and furans), PCBs, HCB, and DDT.

Specific effects can include cancer, allergies and hypersensitivity, damage to the central and peripheral nervous systems, reproductive disorders, and disruption of the immune system. 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; they can also have developmental and carcinogenic effects.

In addition, POPs concentrate in living organisms through another process called bioaccumulation. Though not soluble in water, POPs are readily absorbed in fatty tissue, where concentrations can become magnified by up to 70,000 times the background levels. Fish, predatory birds, mammals, and humans are high up the food chain and so absorb the greatest concentrations. When they travel, the POPs travel with them. As a result of these two processes, POPs can be found in people and animals living in regions such as the Arctic, thousands of kilometers from any major POPs source.

* Aldrin – A pesticide applied to soils to kill termites, grasshoppers, corn rootworm, and other insect pests, aldrin can also kill birds, fish, and humans. In one incident, aldrin-treated rice is believed to have killed hundreds of shorebirds, waterfowl, and passerines along the Texas Gulf Coast when these birds either ate animals that had eaten the rice or ate the rice themselves. In humans, the fatal dose for an adult male is estimated to be about five grams. Humans are mostly exposed to aldrin through dairy products and animal meats. Studies in India indicate that the average daily intake of aldrin and its byproduct dieldrin (see below) is about 19 micrograms per person. The use of aldrin has been banned or severely restricted in many countries.

* Chlordane – Used extensively to control termites and as a broad-spectrum insecticide on a range of agricultural crops, chlordane remains in the soil for a long time and has a reported half-life of one year. The lethal effects of chlordane on fish and birds vary according to the species, but tests have shown that it can kill mallard ducks, bobwhite quail, and pink shrimp. Chlordane may affect the human immune system and is classified as a possible human carcinogen. It is believed that human exposure occurs mainly through the air, and chlordane has been detected in the indoor air of residences in the US and Japan. Chlordane is either banned or severely restricted in dozens of countries.

* DDT – Perhaps the most infamous of the POPs, DDT was widely used during World War II to protect soldiers and civilians from malaria, typhus, and other diseases spread by insects. After the war, DDT continued to be used to control disease, and it was sprayed on a variety of agricultural crops, especially cotton. DDT continues to be applied against mosquitoes in several countries to control malaria. Its stability, its persistence (as much as 50% can remain in the soil 10-15 years after application), and its widespread use have meant that DDT residues can be found everywhere; residual DDT has even been detected in the Arctic.

Perhaps the best known toxic effect of DDT is egg-shell thinning among birds, especially birds of prey. Its impact on bird populations led to bans in many countries during the 1970s. Thirty-four countries have banned DDT, while 34 others severely restrict its use. Nonetheless, it has been detected in food from all over the world. Although residues in domestic animals have declined steadily over the last two decades, food-borne DDT remains the greatest source of exposure for the general population. The short-term acute effects of DDT on humans are limited, but long-term exposures have been associated with chronic health effects. DDT has been detected in breast milk, raising serious concerns about infant health.

* Dieldrin – Used principally to control termites and textile pests, dieldrin has also been used to control insect-borne diseases and insects living in agricultural soils. Its half-life in soil is approximately five years. The pesticide aldrin rapidly converts to dieldrin, so concentrations of dieldrin in the environment are higher than dieldrin use alone would indicate. Dieldrin is highly toxic to fish and other aquatic animals, particularly frogs, whose embryos can develop spinal deformities after exposure to low levels. Dieldrin residues have been found in air, water, soil, fish, birds, and mammals, including humans. Food represents the primary source of exposure to the general population. For example, dieldrin was the second most common pesticide detected in a US survey of pasteurized milk.

* Dioxins – These chemicals are produced unintentionally due to incomplete combustion, as well during the manufacture of pesticides and other chlorinated substances. They are emitted mostly from the burning of hospital waste, municipal waste, and hazardous waste, and also from automobile emissions, peat, coal, and wood. There are 75 different dioxins, of which seven are considered to be of concern. One type of dioxin was found to be present in the soil 10 - 12 years after the first exposure. Dioxins have been associated with a number of adverse effects in humans, including immune and enzyme disorders and chloracne, and they are classified as possible human carcinogens. Laboratory animals given dioxins suffered a variety of effects, including an increase in birth defects and stillbirths. Fish exposed to these substances died shortly after the exposure ended. Food (particularly from animals) is the major source of exposure for humans.

* Endrin – This insecticide is sprayed on the leaves of crops such as cotton and grains. It is also used to control rodents such as mice and voles. Animals can metabolize endrin, so it does not accumulate in their fatty tissue to the extent that structurally similar chemicals do. It has a long half-life, however, persisting in the soil for up to 12 years. In addition, endrin is highly toxic to fish. When exposed to high levels of endrin in the water, sheepshead minnows hatched early and died by the ninth day of their exposure. The primary route of exposure for the general human population is through food, although current dietary intake estimates are below the limits deemed safe by world health authorities.

* Furans – These compounds are produced unintentionally from many of the same processes that produce dioxins, and also during the production of PCBs (see below). They have been detected in emissions from waste incinerators and automobiles. Furans are structurally similar to dioxins and share many of their toxic effects. There are 135 different types, and their toxicity varies. Furans persist in the environment for long periods, and are classified as possible human carcinogens. Food, particularly animal products, is the major source of exposure for humans. Furans have also been detected in breast-fed infants.

* Heptachlor –Primarily used to kill soil insects and termites, heptachlor has also been used more widely to kill cotton insects, grasshoppers, other crop pests, and malaria-carrying mosquitoes. It is believed to be responsible for the decline of several wild bird populations, including Canadian Geese and American Kestrels in the Columbia River basin in the US. The geese died after eating seeds treated with levels of heptachlor lower than the usage levels recommended by the manufacturer, indicating that even responsible use of heptachlor may kill wildlife. Laboratory tests have also shown high doses of heptachlor to be fatal to mink, rats, and rabbits, with lower doses causing adverse behavioral changes and reduced reproductive success. Heptachlor is classified as a possible human carcinogen, and some two dozen countries have either banned it or severely restricted its use. Food is the major source of exposure for humans, and residues have been detected in the blood of cattle from the US and from Australia.

* Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) – First introduced in 1945 to treat seeds, HCB kills fungi that affect food crops. It was widely used to control wheat bunt. It is also a byproduct of the manufacture of certain industrial chemicals and exists as an impurity in several pesticide formulations. When people in eastern Turkey ate HCB-treated seed grain between 1954 and 1959, they developed a variety of symptoms, including photosensitive skin lesions, colic, and debilitation; several thousand developed a metabolic disorder called porphyria turcica, and 14% died. Mothers also passed HCB to their infants through the placenta and through breast milk. In high doses, HCB is lethal to some animals and, at lower levels, adversely affects their reproductive success. HCB has been found in food of all types. A study of Spanish meat found HCB present in all samples. In India, the estimated average daily intake of HCB is 0.13 micrograms per kilogram of body weight.

* Mirex – This insecticide is used mainly to combat fire ants, and it has been used against other types of ants and termites. It has also been used as a fire retardant in plastics, rubber, and electrical goods. Direct exposure to mirex does not appear to cause injury to humans, but studies on laboratory animals have caused it to be classified as a possible human carcinogen. In studies mirex proved toxic to several plant species and to fish and crustaceans. It is considered to be one of the most stable and persistent pesticides, with a half life of up to 10 years. The main route of human exposure to mirex is through food, particularly meat, fish, and wild game.

* Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) – These compounds are used in industry as heat exchange fluids, in electric transformers and capacitors, and as additives in paint, carbonless copy paper, and plastics. Of the 209 different types of PCBs, 13 exhibit a dioxin-like toxicity. Their persistence in the environment corresponds to the degree of chlorination, and half-lives can vary from 10 days to one-and-a-half years. PCBs are toxic to fish, killing them at higher doses and causing spawning failures at lower doses. Research also links PCBs to reproductive failure and suppression of the immune system in various wild animals, such as seals and mink.

Large numbers of people have been exposed to PCBs through food contamination. Consumption of PCB-contaminated rice oil in Japan in 1968 and in Taiwan in 1979 caused pigmentation of nails and mucous membranes and swelling of the eyelids, along with fatigue, nausea, and vomiting. Due to the persistence of PCBs in their mothers' bodies, children born up to seven years after the Taiwan incident showed developmental delays and behavioral problems. Similarly, children of mothers who ate large amounts of contaminated fish from Lake Michigan showed poorer short-term memory function. PCBs also suppress the human immune system and are listed as probable human carcinogens.

* Toxaphene – This insecticide is used on cotton, cereal grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables. It has also been used to control ticks and mites in livestock. Toxaphene was the most widely used pesticide in the US in 1975. Up to 50% of a toxaphene release can persist in the soil for up to 12 years. For humans, the most likely source of toxaphene exposure is food. While the toxicity to humans of direct exposure is not high, toxaphene has been listed as a possible human carcinogen due to its effects on laboratory animals. It is highly toxic to fish; brook trout exposed to toxaphene for 90 days experienced a 46% reduction in weight and reduced egg viability, and long-term exposure to levels of 0.5 micrograms per liter of water reduced egg viability to zero. Thirty-seven countries have banned toxaphene, and 11 others have severely restricted its use.

THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY'S RESPONSE TO POPs

What has happened?

Over the past few decades, as the risks posed by POPs became of increasing concern in many countries, various actions to protect human health and the environment have been taken at the national, regional and international levels.

More than three decades ago, Rachel Carson’s "Silent Spring" highlighted the risks of DDT and other pesticides by evoking the haunting image of a springtime without birds. The resulting media attention led to legal action by several countries to ban or severely restrict the use of DDT in the early 1970s. Governments moved to ban or restrict other chemical compounds as well in response to growing scientific evidence that they too were toxic to humans and animals.

Since then, many countries have adopted national legislation to regulate the production and use of hazardous chemicals. However, because POPs circulate globally, no country acting alone can protect its citizens or its environment from them. United action by the international community is essential.

Fortunately, there are alternatives to most POPs. The problem is that high costs, a lack of public awareness, and the absence of appropriate infrastructure and technology often prevent their adoption. Therefore, to minimize the need for using POPs, the international community will have to exploit all the tools at its disposal, including education, incentives, regulations, and, when necessary, bans.

Solutions must be tailored to the specific properties and uses of each chemical, as well as to each country's climatic and socio-economic conditions. But action must be taken quickly: the persistence of these chemicals in water and soil and their accumulation in living tissue means that each year that passes without a solution will result in decades of additional exposures.

The first step: better coordination

In 1992, governments met at the Rio Earth Summit and adopted Agenda 21, which includes Chapter 19 on the "Environmentally Sound Management of Toxic Chemicals Including Prevention of Illegal International Traffic in Toxic and Dangerous Products". This chapter called for the creation of an Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety (IFCS) to promote the coordination of international work on chemicals. Since being established in 1994, the IFCS has provided policy guidance and strategies for harmonizing risk assessment methods and chemical classification. It has also contributed to strengthening information exchange, risk reduction, chemicals management capacity-building, and so forth.

Meanwhile, the Inter-Organization Programme on the Sound Management of Chemicals (IOMC) was established to promote coordination among international organizations involved in implementing Chapter 19 of Agenda 21. The IOMC’s current membership includes UNEP, ILO, FAO, WHO, the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), and the OECD.

The second step: regulating international trade

Steps to regulate international trade in hazardous chemicals started with the FAO’s International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides (as amended in 1989) and UNEP’s London Guidelines for the Exchange of Information on Chemicals in International Trade (amended 1989). Together, these instruments led to the creation of the voluntary Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure, which is jointly administered by FAO and UNEP.

The Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure is a means for formally obtaining and disseminating the decisions of importing countries as to whether they wish to receive future shipments of a certain chemical and for ensuring compliance to these decisions by exporting countries. The aim is to promote a shared responsibility between exporting and importing countries in protecting human health and the environment from the harmful effects of such chemicals. The voluntary PIC procedure has covered 22 pesticides and five industrial chemicals – among which are seven of the 12 POPs.

The voluntary PIC system has worked well, and 154 countries have participated in the procedure. By the mid-1990s, however, governments saw the need for a legally binding treaty to govern trade in these hazardous chemicals. Treaty negotiations began in 1996 and the Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade was adopted and signed at a Conference of Plenipotentiaries in Rotterdam on 10 - 11 September. To date 13 countries have ratified the Rotterdam Convention.

The third step: minimizing releases and emissions

In May 1995, UNEP’s Governing Council called for an international assessment of the 12 recognized POPs (Decision 18/32). In response, the Inter-Organization Programme on the Sound Management of Chemicals summarized the scientific literature on POPs and consolidated the available information on their chemistry, toxicity, environmental dispersion, and other relevant properties and established an UNEP/IFCS ad hoc Working Group on POPs.

The Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety concluded in June 1996 that there was sufficient evidence that international action – including a global legally binding instrument – was needed to reduce the risks posed by POPs to human health and the environment. These recommendations were forwarded to UNEP’s Governing Council and WHO’s World Health Assembly.

In February 1997, at the Governing Council of UNEP (and later in May at the World Health Assembly of the WHO), governments agreed:

• that it was necessary to take immediate international action “to reduce the risks to human health and the environment arising from the release of the 12 specified POPs”; and, as part of this action,

• to develop a binding international agreement to “reduce and/or eliminate the emissions and discharges of the 12 POPs” to the environment, and “where appropriate, eliminate production and subsequently the remaining use of those POPs that are intentionally produced”.

It also called for work on developing and sharing information; evaluating and monitoring response strategies; determining alternatives to POPs; identifying and inventorying PCBs; quantifying the available capacity for incinerating or destroying unwanted stocks; and identifying sources of dioxin and furan emissions.

The negotiations of the UNEP POPs convention began in Montreal on June 29, 1998, and after a total of five sessions, concluded on December 10, 2000 in Johannesburg. The sessions were held as follows; the first in Montreal, Canada, 29 June to 3 July 1998, the second in Nairobi, 25-29 January 1999, the third in Geneva, 6-11 September 1999, the fourth in Bonn, Germany, 20-25 March 2000 and the fifth and final in Johannesburg, South Africa, 4-9 December 2000. In Johannesburg countries agreed on the text of the convention and they also agreed to name it the Stockholm Convention on POPs.

An overview of the Stockholm Convention on POPs

Below are some highlights of what will be known as the Stockholm POPs Convention.  The main provisions of the Convention may be briefly summarized under four headings:

1. Control provisions
2. General provisions
3. Procedure for adding new POPs
4. Financial and technical assistance
   
   

 1) Control Provisions:

For the initial 10 intentionally produced POPs:

·                     the goal for all is the elimination of production and use

·                     country-specific exemptions for eight of the 10 have been identified

·                     countries have until the opening of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries in Stockholm to
                  amend the list

·                     the Secretariat will keep a public register for all country-specific exemptions

·                     a country-specific exemption may be withdrawn by a Party at any time

·                     an exemption is valid for five years

·                     the COP will review a request for renewing an exemption

·                     Parties with exemptions shall take measures to prevent or minimize human exposure and
      releases to the environment

·                     When all countries have withdrawn their exemptions for a specific substance, the
      Conference of the Parties may delete that exemption from the Annex.

For PCBs:

·                     all Parties have agreed to cease production

·                     the use of in-place equipment is exempted for all Parties, with conditions

·                     the intent is to phase equipment out by 2025

·                     no trade is allowed in PCB equipment, except for the purpose of environmentally sound  
            waste management

·                     Parties should establish environmentally sound management of PCB wastes as soon as
            possible, and at the latest by 2028

·                     Parties should report on their activities every five years, and the Conference of the Parties
            should review progress at five-year intervals

With regard to DDT:

·                     a special regime is included, involving “Acceptable Purposes”

·                     production or use is only allowed to meet requirements for disease vector control
            programs according to WHO guidelines (malaria, etc.)

·                     the Secretariat will keep a specific public register that will identify Parties that use DDT

·                     registered Parties will report every three years on use, etc.

·                     registered Parties should develop national action plans, including measures to reduce
            reliance on DDT

·                     all Parties should seek alternatives to DDT for the purposes of vector control

·                     the Conference of the Parties will review the situation every three years to ascertain
            whether there is a continued need for DDT use

·                     specific exemptions are also allowed, but there are only two of these (related to
            intermediate use of DDT in the  manufacturing of other substances)

Trade in the ten intentionally produced POPs will be restricted as follows:

·                     In general, imports and exports are limited to

°               the environmentally sound disposal of the substances

°               Parties with specific exemptions or acceptable purposes

·       Exports to non-Parties may take place, but with conditions and accountability

For other intentionally produced substances with similar properties as the present 12 POPs, countries with regulatory and assessment schemes for industrial chemicals or pesticides shall:

·                     take “measures to regulate, with the aim of preventing, the production and use of ” new
            POPs (N.B. Precautionary measure)

·                     consider the screening criteria for candidates for addition to the Convention in conducting
             assessments of in-use substances.

For POPs that are not intentionally produced:

·                     the goal is to reduce the total releases from anthropogenic sources to achieve “continuing
            minimization and, where feasible, ultimate elimination”

·                     Parties are to develop action plans within two years of entry into force of Convention and
            also to implement the plan, which should inter alia contain actions to:

°               evaluate current and projected releases (source inventories, release estimates)

°               evaluate efficacy of laws and policies to manage such releases

°               develop strategies, and promote education and training on them

°               review success of strategies every five years and report to the COP

°               develop schedule for implementation of action plan

·                     promote measures to achieve realistic and meaningful level of release reduction or source
            elimination

·                     promote the development and, where appropriate, require the use of substitute or
            modified materials, products and processes to prevent the formation and release of by-
            product POPs

·                     promote, and as provided for in an action plan, require the use of Best Available
            Technology (BAT) for new sources within specified source categories in (Part II of)
            Annex C, and phase in BAT requirements for new sources in Part II of Annex C within
            four years of the entry into force of the Convention for a Party

·                     for identified new source categories, Parties shall promote the use of Best Environmental
            Practice (BEP)

·                     promote the use of BAT and BEP for existing sources within identified source categories
            and for new sources which are not otherwise addressed

·                     the COP will develop guidance on BAT and BEP

For POPs in stockpiles and wastes, the goal is to ensure the sound management of stockpiles, wastes, products and articles upon becoming wastes that consist of, contain or are contaminated by POPs. To this end Parties shall:

·                     develop and implement strategies to identify the stockpiles, products and articles
            containing POPs

·                     manage stockpiles in a safe, efficient and environmentally sound manner until they are
            deemed to be wastes

·                     take measures to handle, collect, transport and store wastes in an ESM, and dispose of in
            a way that destroys the POP content, or otherwise in an ESM taking into account
            international rules, standards and guidelines.

·                     not allow recovery, recycle, reclamation, direct reuse or alternative uses of POPs

·                     not transport across international boundaries without taking into account international
            rules, etc (e.g. Basel Convention)

·                     develop strategies for identifying contaminated sites and if remediation is attempted, do
            in an ESM

2) General Provisions:

Parties must develop an action plan within two years, involve all relevant stakeholders in doing so, and endeavour to implement, review and update the plan on a periodic basis.

Parties shall designate a National Focal Point to permit the exchange of information on production, use and release of POPs and on alternatives to POPs.

Parties shall promote and facilitate:

·                     awareness among policy- and decision-makers on POPs

·                     provision of up-to-date information to the public

·                     development of educational and public awareness programs

·                     public participation in addressing POPs

·                     training and development programs for all stakeholders

Parties shall encourage and/or undertake research, development, monitoring and cooperation on all aspects of POPs, including aspects relating to their environmental releases, presence, transformation, effects, socio-economic impacts, and release reduction and/or elimination.

In the future, the COP will evaluate the effectiveness of the Convention in reducing and/or eliminating the releases of POPs by establishing a mechanism to acquire monitoring data on POPs using available scientific information.  This mechanism will tap into existing networks and sources of information to achieve this, and will be addressed in the future by the first COP.

3) Procedure for adding new POPs:

The POPs convention will be a living instrument and provision has been made for addition of new POPs through application of scientific criteria and an agreed process for evaluation of candidates that will be nominated in the future. Criteria include:

·                     persistence in different media with numerical cut-off values

·                     bioaccumulation in organisms with numerical cut-off values

·                     potential for long-range environmental transport

·                     adverse effects

The proposing Party shall also provide a statement of the reasons for concern. The process for the evaluation of candidates proceeds in several steps and incorporates precaution in a number of ways to ensure that all possible candidate POPs are thoroughly considered and evaluated on the basis of available scientific data to see if they possess the properties that would indicate POPs behaviour to a degree sufficient to warrant inclusion in the treaty.  A POPs Review Committee will be set up to advise the COP on the application of the criteria and process and there are safeguards in the process to ensure that all Parties have the opportunity to get a full hearing on any nominated candidate.

4) Financial and technical assistance:

One of the key features of the Convention reflects the recognition that developing countries and countries with economies in transition will need technical and financial assistance in order to meet their obligations as Parties to the Convention.  The developed countries have undertaken to provide technical assistance and new and additional financial resources to meet these needs, and the Global Environment Facility has been named as an interim financial mechanism to handle the funding of capacity building and other related activities.

Where do we go from here?

The next step is the Conference of Plenipotentiaries for the Stockholm Convention on POPs. Countries will have the opportunity to adopt and sign the convention. When 50 countries have ratified the convention, it will come into force.  Based on past conventions, this is not expected to occur before 2004 or 2005.

However, that does not mean that action on POPs will not take place for another three or four years: far from it!  The process of negotiation has stimulated wide spread interest and concern about the effects of POPs and much action has already taken place.  UNEP has developed a master list of actions that reports that over 108 countries have already taken or are taking action of some sort of action on POPs.  During the negotiation process, environmental groups established an International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN) that has now grown to include over 300 ENGO’s, and they are promoting action on POPs around the world.

There will also be a number of resolutions on interim measures and arrangements for consideration and adoption by the Conference of Plenipotentiaries. These resolutions will set the stage for activities that will take place between the Stockholm Conference and the first COP. It is foreseen that the INC will continue to meet to review interim activities and to prepare for the first COP. Governments are also encouraged to implement the obligations under the convention on a voluntary basis.

THE POPs NEGOTIATIONS: A GLOSSARY

This glossary contains some of the most common acronyms and jargon that has been used throughout the negotiations and which are likely to be encountered in Stockholm.

I) The Players

• Bureau – Responsible for directing the work of the INC. Its members are delegates elected by each of the five regional groups; they normally include the Chair, Vice-Chairs, and the Rapporteur.
• Chair (or chairman etc.) – The participating governments elect a Chair from amongst the delegates. The Chair is responsible for facilitating progress towards an agreement and normally serves until the negotiations have concluded.
• Conference of the Parties (COP) – Some years from now, after the POPs agreement has been adopted and has entered into force, a COP may be designated as the treaty’s supreme body. All Parties will be members.
• countries with economies in transition (EIT) – Those Central and East European countries and former republics of the Soviet Union that are in transition to a market economy.
• European Union (EU) – Member states meet as a group to discuss various issues; they are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the UK.
• friends of the chair – Delegates who are called upon by the Chair (who takes into account the need for a political balance amongst various interests) to assist in carrying out specific tasks.
• Group of 77 and China – The G-77 was founded in 1967 under the auspices of the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD). It seeks to harmonize the negotiating positions of its 132 developing-country members.
• Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) – UNEP’s Governing Council provided a mandate for the creation of an INC to conduct the POPs talks. All members of the UN or its specialized agencies may participate in the work of an INC as negotiating parties.
• JUSSCANNZ – The non-EU industrialized countries meet as a group to discuss various issues; they are Japan, the US, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Norway, and New Zealand. Iceland, Mexico, and Turkey may also attend the meetings.
• national delegation – One or more officials who are empowered to represent and negotiate on behalf of their government.
• non-governmental organizations (NGOs) – Many relevant NGOs attend intergovernmental meetings as observers in order to interact with delegates and the press and provide information. NGOs must be non-profit and can include environmental groups, research institutions, business groups, and associations of urban and local governments.
• observer – INCs normally permit observers to attend their meetings. Observers may include the United Nations and its specialized agencies, the International Atomic Energy Agency, observer states, and other relevant intergovernmental or non-government organizations.
• OECD – The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development comprises Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the UK, and the US.
• Party – A state (or regional economic integration organization such as the EC) that agrees to be bound by a treaty and for which the treaty has entered into force.
• regional groups – The five regional groups meet privately to discuss issues and nominate Bureau members and other officials. They are Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), and the Western Europe and Others Group (WEOG).
• Secretariat – The Executive Director and the staff of UNEP are responsible for servicing the INC, including the preparation of documents and meeting arrangements. Within UNEP, the Geneva-based UNEP Chemicals division is coordinating the organization of the POPs INC.
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) – Based in Nairobi, UNEP facilitates and conducts assessments, develops guidelines, and otherwise supports intergovernmental processes.
• WEOG – The Western Europe and Others Group comprises West European states, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the US.

II) The action (meetings, documents, process)

• agenda – A programme of work that the INC adopts and uses to guide its work; the annotated agenda contains a more detailed explanation of each agenda item.
• Conference Room Papers (CRPs) – A category of in-session documents containing new proposals or outcomes of in-session work for use during the session.
• consensus – An agreement can be adopted by consensus rather than by a vote when there are no stated objections from delegations.
• decision – A formal agreement at the plenary which directs the work of the INC.
• documents – Official meeting documents are available to everyone and feature the logos of the United Nations and UNEP and a reference number (such as UNEP/POPS/INC.1/1). Pre-session documents are available before the meeting in all six UN languages (see http://irptc.unep.ch/pops/). In-session documents are distributed on-site and may include CRPs, L docs, and nonpapers. Informal documents are often distributed outside the meeting room by observers.
• drafting groups – To facilitate negotiations, the Chair may establish smaller drafting groups to meet separately and in private to prepare text. Observers generally may not attend.
• entry into force – Intergovernmental agreements are not legally binding until they have been ratified by a certain number of countries. The Stockholm Convention requires 50 ratifications to start a 90-day countdown to entry into force.
• informal contact group – On the instructions of the Chair, delegates may meet in private to discuss specific matters in order to consolidate different views, reach a compromise, and produce an agreed proposal, often in the form of a written text.
• L. docs – In-session documents that contain draft reports or texts and are for limited distribution.
• meetings and sessions – Each session of the INC is divided into a number of meetings. Each meeting is generally scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. or from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., so that the morning of 29 June will be the first meeting of the first session.
• non-papers – Issued informally to facilitate negotiations; they do not have an official document symbol although they may have an identifying number or the name of the authors.
• plenary – An open meeting of the entire INC where all formal decisions are taken.
• ratification – After signing a treaty, a country must ratify it, often with the approval of the parliament or other legislature. The instrument of ratification must be deposited with the Depositary, who is often the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
• resolutions- decisions adopted by the Conference of Plenipotentiaries in addition to the Convention. Resolutions typically deal with interim activities, i.e. activities undertaken by countries and the secretariat between the adoption and signature of the Convention and its entry into force.
• rules of procedure – The rules that govern the organization and proceedings of the INC, including the procedures for decision-making and voting and for participation.
• signature – The head of state or government, the foreign minister, or another designated official indicates his or her country’s agreement with the adopted text of a treaty and its intention to become a Party by signing it.
• square brackets – Used during negotiations to indicate that a section of text is being discussed but has not yet been agreed.
• working group – The Chair may establish a meeting wherein delegates can negotiate before forwarding agreed text to the INC plenary for its consideration and eventual adoption.

III) The issues

• bioaccumulation – The ability of a chemical to accumulate in living tissue at levels higher than those in the surrounding environment. See also bioconcentration factor.
• bioavailability – The extent to which a substance absorbed by an organism is available to enter into biological interactions.
• bioconcentration factor (BCF) – The ratio of a chemical’s concentration in an organism to its concentration in the environment or food. It generally indicates the presence of a chemical substance in higher concentrations in an organism than in the direct environment or its food.
• biodegradable – Refers to any substance that decomposes through the action of micro-organisms.
• carcinogen – A chemical, physical, or biological substance that is capable of causing cancer.
• chemical – A substance that does not include living matter. A chemical can exist alone or in a mixture or preparation; it can be manufactured or obtained from nature.
• contaminant – An undesired physical, chemical, biological, or radiological substance.
• criteria – Specific quantitative or qualitative values for chosen parameters that are used to identify which chemicals should be classified as POPs.
• cut-off values – Specific quantitative values for criteria that are used as thresholds for identifying chemicals as POPs.
• debilitation – The state of weakness or feebleness.
• deposit – An accumulation or laying down of a chemical from a specific source.
• emission – The release of a substance into the atmosphere from either a "point" or a "diffuse" source. (A point source is one whose dimensions are small compared with the distance to the observation point, e.g. a smokestack seen from afar.)
• endocrine disrupter – A substance that affects the endocrine (hormone-producing) function, thus causing adverse health effects on an organism or its offspring.
• exposure – The act or fact of exposing or being exposed to a substance.
• genotoxic – Refers to a chemical's potential to modify the genetic code (DNA).
• grasshopper effect – The process by which POPs circulate globally through the atmosphere via repeated release (evaporation) and deposit (e.g. through rainfall).
• half-life – The time required for half of a given quantity of a substance to break down and disappear.
• Henry’s law – A law stating that the amount of gas that will dissolve in a given quantity of liquid is proportional to the partial pressure of the gas above the liquid at constant temperature.
• hydrolysis – The cleaving of a molecule by the addition of water.
• hypersensitivity – A state of increased susceptibility, such as an allergic reaction, to an antigen to which the organism has been previously exposed. (An antigen is a substance that stimulates the production of antibodies when introduced into the body.)
• incinerator – A furnace in which wastes are burned.
• insecticide – A substance or a mixture of substances for destroying or repelling any type of insect.
• metabolism – The sum of all the chemical and physical processes within a living organism.
• mutagenic – See genotoxic.
• octanol-water partitioning constant (Kow) – The ratio of a chemical’s concentration in water to its concentration in octonal as determined in a laboratory test is used to measure the chemical’s potential to accumulate in fatty tissue. A substance with a high partition coefficient is likely to bioaccumulate.
• Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) – Organic (carbon-based) substances that persist in the environment, bioaccumulate in living tissue, and pose a risk to human health and the environment.
• persistence – Refers to a chemical’s ability to remain stable and not break down.
• pesticide – A substance or a mixture of substances for destroying or repelling any type of pest, including fungi, insects, and termites.
• photolysis – The decomposition of a substance into simpler units due to its absorption of light.
• reproductive disorders – Refers to negative effects on the reproductive system and on the production of offspring.
• toxicity – The ability of a chemical to cause injury to humans or the environment. An acute toxic reaction occurs soon after exposure, while chronic reactions are experience long after the exposure.
• volatility – The ability of a chemical to evaporate into air.