Facebook Twitter Email
MAY 24, 2001

The United States on Wednesday signed a global treaty banning or reducing the "dirty dozen" chemicals that are linked to birth defects, cancer, skin problems, and other ailments.

The toxins include PCBs, dioxins, and pesticides, otherwise known as persistent organic pollutants, or POPs. They affect Natives who live subistence lifestyles because they tend to gather in the fat of animals consumed by humans.

At a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden, 90 countries signed the treaty. It will only go into effect once 50 countries have ratified it.

Get the Story:
U.S. signs toxics treaty, Europe skeptical over Bush's environmental stance (AP 5/23)
U.S. Signs Convention On Persistent Organic Pollutants (The White House 5/23)

Relevant Links:
How POPs threaten the Natural Environment and the Future of Indigenous Peoples - http://www.ienearth.org/pops_threat-p1.html
The Indigenous Environmental Network - http://www.ienearth.org
Contaminants in Alaska - http://www.state.ak.us/dec/deh/contaminants.htm
Persistent Organic Pollutants, the United Nations - http://irptc.unep.ch/pops

Related Stories:
Toxins treaty formally adopted (5/23)
Toxics poisoning Inuit Natives (5/22)
Bush to sign toxins treaty (4/20)
AP: Bush to sign toxin treaty (4/19)
EPA dioxin report opposed (4/12)
Alaska hails pollutant treaty (12/13)
Negotiations begin to ban pollutants (12/5)
Alaska Natives call for toxin study (10/13)
Scientists trace Arctic pollution to US (10/4)
Dioxins are everywhere (10/4)