But we do
not use
any toxic
chemicals!
Chemicals travel in
wind and water, in
plants and animals
we eat. We have
poisons in our bodies
we have never even
heard of.
POPs (Persistent Organic Pollutants) 341
POPs travel through air, water, and soil.
They collect in the bodies of living things
and accumulate as they pass along the food
web (see page 335). Because of this, POPs
are found everywhere in our environment,
even in places far from where they were
produced.
Dioxins are some of the most toxic POPs.
Most dioxin is released when PVC plastic,
bleached paper, coal, diesel fuel, and other
things that contain the chemical chlorine are
burned. Dioxin is also released from metal
smelting, cement making, papermaking, and
some pesticides. Dioxin released into air and
water sooner or later gets into our food and
drinking water. Dioxin causes cancer.
PVC plastic is commonly used to make pipes for water systems. PVC is
also used in baby bottles, toys, food containers, and other everyday products.
As PVC plastic gets old and worn down, it can release toxic
chemicals, causing serious illness. When burned, PVC plastics
release the harmful POPs dioxins and furans.
PCBs (Poly chlorinated biphenyls) are
one kind of POP formerly used in electrical
equipment, such as transformers and
switches, and in products such as carbonless
Replacing
one toxic
chemical with
another is no
solution to
the problem.
copy paper and dyes. Because they are
known to be very toxic, PCBs are now
banned internationally and replaced in some
cases by other chemicals called PBDEs. But
PBDEs also stay in our bodies for a long
time, and also cause serious health problems
such as damage to the brain and nerves.
We can begin by
stopping things we
know are bad, like
dioxins and PCBs.
Health problems from POPs
Even small exposures to POPs
cause problems such as sterility
and birth defects. Some POPs
cause the body to become more
sensitive to other chemicals as
well (see page 333).
A Community Guide to Environmental Health 2012