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Stockholm Convention On Persistent Organic Pollutants
Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is an international environmental treaty, signed on 22 May 2001 in Stockholm and effective from 17 May 2004, that aims to eliminate or restrict the production and use of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). History In 1995, the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) called for global action to be taken on POPs, which it defined as "chemical substances that persist in the environment, bio-accumulate through the food web, and pose a risk of causing adverse effects to human health and the environment". Following this, the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety (IFCS) and the International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) prepared an assessment of the 12 worst offenders, known as the ''dirty dozen''. The INC met five times between June 1998 and December 2000 to elaborate the convention, and delegates adopted the Stockholm Convention on POPs at the Conference of the Plenipotentiaries ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations. It is the world's largest and most familiar international organization. The UN is headquartered on international territory in New York City, and has other main offices in Geneva, Nairobi, Vienna, and The Hague (home to the International Court of Justice). The UN was established after World War II with the aim of preventing future world wars, succeeding the League of Nations, which was characterized as ineffective. On 25 April 1945, 50 governments met in San Francisco for a conference and started drafting the UN Charter, which was adopted on 25 June 1945 and took effect on 24 October 1945, when the UN began operations. Pursuant to the Charter, the organization's objectives include maintaining internationa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been described as a ''sui generis'' political entity (without precedent or comparison) combining the characteristics of both a federation and a confederation. Containing 5.8per cent of the world population in 2020, the EU generated a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of around trillion in 2021, constituting approximately 18per cent of global nominal GDP. Additionally, all EU states but Bulgaria have a very high Human Development Index according to the United Nations Development Programme. Its cornerstone, the Customs Union, paved the way to establishing an internal single market based on standardised legal framework and legislation that applies in all member states in those matters, and only those matters, where the states have agreed to ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endosulfan
Endosulfan is an off- patent organochlorine insecticide and acaricide that is being phased out globally. It became a highly controversial agrichemical due to its acute toxicity, potential for bioaccumulation, and role as an endocrine disruptor. Because of its threats to human health and the environment, a global ban on the manufacture and use of endosulfan was negotiated under the Stockholm Convention in April 2011. The ban has taken effect in mid-2012, with certain uses exempted for five additional years. More than 80 countries, including the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, several West African nations, the United States,Cone, MarlaEPA Bans Pesticide Found on Cucumbers, Zucchini, Green Beans and Other Vegetables.''The Daily Green.'' June 10, 2010. Brazil, and Canada had already banned it or announced phase-outs by the time the Stockholm Convention ban was agreed upon. It is still used extensively in India and China despite laws against its use. It is also used in a few o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dieldrin
Dieldrin is an organochloride originally produced in 1948 by J. Hyman & Co, Denver, as an insecticide. Dieldrin is closely related to aldrin, which reacts further to form dieldrin. Aldrin is not toxic to insects; it is oxidized in the insect to form dieldrin which is the active compound. Both dieldrin and aldrin are named after the Diels-Alder reaction which is used to form aldrin from a mixture of norbornadiene and hexachlorocyclopentadiene. Originally developed in the 1940s as an alternative to DDT, dieldrin proved to be a highly effective insecticide and was very widely used during the 1950s to early 1970s. Endrin is a stereoisomer of dieldrin. However, it is an extremely persistent organic pollutant; it does not easily break down. Furthermore, it tends to biomagnify as it is passed along the food chain. Long-term exposure has proven toxic to a very wide range of animals including humans, far greater than to the original insect targets. For this reason, it is now ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dicofol
Dicofol is an organochlorine pesticide that is chemically related to DDT. Dicofol is a miticide that is very effective against spider mite. One of the intermediates used in its production is DDT. This has caused criticism by many environmentalists; however, the World Health Organization classifies dicofol as a Level II, "moderately hazardous" pesticide. It is known to be harmful to aquatic animals, and can cause eggshell thinning in various species of birds. Difference between dicofol and DDT Dicofol is structurally similar to DDT. It differs from DDT by the replacement of the hydrogen (H) on C-1 by a hydroxyl (OH) functional group. One of the intermediates used in its production is DDT. Chemistry Dicofol is usually synthesized from technical DDT. During the synthesis, DDT is first chlorinated to an intermediate, Cl-DDT, followed by hydrolyzing to dicofol. After the synthesis reaction, DDT and Cl-DDT may remain in the dicofol product as impurities. * Formula: C14H9Cl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Building Insulation
Building insulation is any object in a building used as insulation for thermal management. While the majority of insulation in buildings is for thermal purposes, the term also applies to acoustic insulation, fire insulation, and impact insulation (e.g. for vibrations caused by industrial applications). Often an insulation material will be chosen for its ability to perform several of these functions at once. Insulation is an important economic and environmental investment for buildings. By installing insulation, buildings use less energy for heating and cooling and occupants experience less thermal variability. Retrofitting buildings with further insulation is an important climate change mitigation tactic, especially in geographies where energy production is carbon-intensive. Local and national governments and utilities often have a mix of incentives and regulations to encourage insulation efforts on new and renovated buildings as part of efficiency programs in order to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polyurethane
Polyurethane (; often abbreviated PUR and PU) refers to a class of polymers composed of organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links. In contrast to other common polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene, polyurethane is produced from a wide range of starting materials. This chemical variety produces polyurethanes with different chemical structures leading to many different applications. These include rigid and flexible foams, varnishes and coatings, adhesives, electrical potting compounds, and fibers such as spandex and PUL. Foams are the largest application accounting for 67% of all polyurethane produced in 2016. A polyurethane is typically produced by reacting an isocyanate with a polyol. Since a polyurethane contains two types of monomers, which polymerize one after the other, they are classed as alternating copolymers. Both the isocyanates and polyols used to make a polyurethane contain two or more functional groups per molecule. Global production in 2019 wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Decabromodiphenyl Ether
Decabromodiphenyl ether (also known as decaBDE, deca-BDE, DBDE, deca, decabromodiphenyl oxide, DBDPO, or bis(pentabromophenyl) ether) is a brominated flame retardant which belongs to the group of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Composition, uses, and production Commercial decaBDE is a technical mixture of different PBDE congeners, with PBDE congener number 209 (decabromodiphenyl ether) and nonabromodiphenyl ether being the most common.Joint Research Centre European inventory of Existing Commercial chemical Substances The term decaBDE alone refers to only decabromodiphenyl ether, the single "fully brominated" PBDE.Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease RegistryToxicological Profile for Polybrominated Biphenyls and Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBBs and PBDEs).Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, September 2004. DecaBDE is a flame retardant. The chemical "is always used in conjunction with antimony trioxide" in polymers, ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chlordecone
Chlordecone, better known in the United States under the brand name Kepone, is an organochlorine compound and a colourless solid. It is an obsolete insecticide, now prohibited in the western world, but only after many thousands of tonnes had been produced and used.Robert L. Metcalf "Insect Control" in ''Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry'' Wiley-VCH, Wienheim, 2002. Chlordecone is a known persistent organic pollutant (POP) that was banned globally by the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in 2009.Press Release – COP4 – Geneva, 8 May 2009: Governments unite to step-up reduction on global DDT reliance and add nine new chem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chlordane
Chlordane, or chlordan, is an organochlorine compound that was used as a pesticide. It is a white solid. In the United States, chlordane was used for termite-treatment of approximately 30 million homes until it was banned in 1988. Chlordane was banned 10 years earlier for food crops like corn and citrus, and on lawns and domestic gardens.Robert L. Metcalf "Insect Control" in ''Ullmann’s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry'', Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2002. Like other chlorinated cyclodiene insecticides, chlordane is classified as an organic pollutant hazardous for human health. It is resistant to degradation in the environment and in humans/animals and readily accumulates in lipids (fats) of humans and animals.Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry (ATSDR). Toxic Substances Portal: Chlordane. Last updated September, 2010 nline Available at URL: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/substances/toxsubstance.asp?toxid=62 Exposure to the compound has been linked to cancers, diabetes, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
β-Hexachlorocyclohexane
β-Hexachlorocyclohexane (β-HCH) is an organochloride which is one of the isomers of hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH).Toxicological Profile for Alpha-, Beta-, Gamma-, and Delta-Hexachlorocyclohexane U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, August 2005 It is a byproduct of the production of the (γ-HCH). It is typically constitutes 5–14% of technical-grade lindane, though it has no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
α-Hexachlorocyclohexane
α-Hexachlorocyclohexane (α-HCH) is an organochloride which is one of the isomers of hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH).Toxicological Profile for Alpha-, Beta-, Gamma-, and Delta-Hexachlorocyclohexane U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, August 2005 It is a byproduct of the production of the (γ-HCH) and it is typically still contained in commercial grade lindane used as insecticide. Lindane, however, has not been produced or used in the United States for more than 20 years ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
