In the past, we’ve blogged about the effects of persistent organohalogen contaminants (OHCs), a form of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), on Arctic wildlife – such as the weakening of kidney and liver functioning in polar bears, which decreases their ability to adapt to extreme environments like the Arctic. Yesterday, the Ministers of Environment and Foreign Affairs announced that they would be ratifying amendments to the Protocol on POPs, under the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP). The amendments will add five additional substances to the Protocol’s list of 16 susbtances, which include DDT and PCBs. All substances listed under the Protocol are either banned or restricted in their use and production.

POPs are defined by Environment Canada as:

Toxic substances released into the environment through a variety of human activities. They have adverse effects on the health of ecosystems, wildlife and people. POPs tend to concentrate in colder climates such as Canada’s North, as well as in the Great Lakes Basin and St. Lawrence River.As chemical compounds, POPs are very stable and consequently can last in the environment for years or decades. POPs are also bio-accumulative, meaning they can concentrate in living organisms and accumulate up the food chain through fish, predatory birds, mammals and humans. POPs can enter the human system through traditional foods such as beluga muktuk (skin) and seal blubber. Aboriginal peoples, who rely heavily on such country foods, are particularly affected. Some POPs can be passed on from mother to child across the placenta, or through breast milk.POPs can travel great distances around the globe through the atmosphere. Touching down on oceans and freshwater bodies, they then evaporate into the atmosphere once again, and travel further to touch down in another spot until they ultimately gather in the colder climates. This is known as the grasshopper effect.

Additionally, the government has agreed to changes in the Protocol’s annex aimed at facilitating compliance. Canada’s Environmental Protection Act is the main piece of legislation that deals with POPs. Other legislation includes the Pest Control Products Act, the Fisheries Act and the Hazardous Products Act.