Management of persistant organic pollutants in Pacific island countries : waste and obsolete chemicals and chemical contaminated sites / [by] Therese Burns, Bruce Graham, Andrew Munro, Ian Wallis.

Abstract

This report describes the work undertaken for Phase I of the POPs in PICs project. This included assessment of stockpiles of waste and obsolete chemicals, preliminary assessment of contaminated sites, and a review of relevant legislation. Additional work on education and awareness programmes for both government employees and the general public is still to be completed. POPs are defined by the international chemical community as organic chemicals which are persistent, bioaccumulate, and can have adverse effects on human health and the environment. For the purposes of this project however the term POPs has been interpreted rather broadly and covers all hazardous or potentially hazardous chemicals including pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), general industrial chemicals, medical wastes, laboratory chemicals, oil, bitumen, timber treatment chemicals and fertilisers.