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FEW global issues are more important than ridding the planet of its legacy of
persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Many, including the ubiquitous PCBs
(polychlorinated biphenyls), can cause severe damage to reproductive and nervous
systems in animals and humans alike. At the beginning of December, 122 nations
sent delegates to a UN meeting in Johannesburg to thrash out a global convention
on these pollutants. Reporting after the meeting, �鶹��ý said that it
will take up to 25 years to banish these widespread industrial poisons
(16 December 2000, p 6).
It prompted me to ask Michael Meacher, the environment…