POP’s get into the environment when they are used in pesticides and medicines and they stay in the environment because they build up in food chains through bioaccumulation. For example if DDT is sprayed on crops and then a small critter such as a butterfly land on one of the plants in the crop the butterfly will get some DDT on it. A small bird will then come along and eat that butterfly but it also eats 5 more butterflies who were contaminated by the DDT the DDT has now built up in the bird in a higher concentration. Then that small bird is eaten by something else and that concentration of DDT just builds up as it moves through the food chain which ends up affecting the species at the top of the food chain such as humans, tigers, bears, etc. POP’s are also moved around through wind and water.
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POP’s have a negative effect on the environment because POP’s get into a variety of different food chains and kills off all kinds of different animals. Humans are also affected by POP’s because we eat animals who are and could be affected which can cause cancer, reproductive problems, and mothers who are breast feeding can have their milk contaminated which they then feed to their infants.
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Canadian government regulations put in place was the Stockholm convention in May 2001. In order to protect the needs of people and the environment from the POP’s the Stockholm invention was signed by the US and 90 other countries. The convention decided what to do with the the dirty dozen and what regulations and restriction would need to be put in place on those chemicals in order to provide safety to people and the environment.
Scientists are still working to develop new alternative technologies to replace POP’s that are a lot safer.
Scientists are still working to develop new alternative technologies to replace POP’s that are a lot safer.