Reclaiming Our Future: International Efforts to Eliminate the Threat of Persistent Organic Pollutants

Authors

Elizabeth B. Baldwin

Abstract

The evidence is mounting that persistent organic pollutants ("POPs") are causing increasingly detrimental health and environmental effects around the world and pose a major threat to global biodiversity. Exposure to POPs began with the onset of the chemical age over fifty years ago and has increased steadily with the worldwide distribution of pesticides and fertilizers.

As Ms. Baldwin describes, a concerted international effort is needed to deal with this threat, particularly because POPs banned in one country often find their way to another. In response to this worldwide problem, the international community is attempting to create a binding international instrument to phase out the production and use of certain POPs. This Note summarize:; the evidence of POPs' harmful effects and recent international efforts to limit their spread, and analyzes the scientific, legal and economic issues that must be addressed if the proposed POPs agreement is to be effective.

Recommended Citation

Elizabeth B. Baldwin, Reclaiming Our Future: International Efforts to Eliminate the Threat of Persistent Organic Pollutants, 20 Hastings Int'l & Comp. L. Rev. 855 (1997).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_international_comparative_law_review/vol20/iss4/7