Fact sheet

The 'dirty dozen'

The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is an international environmental treaty that aims to eliminate or restrict the production and use of POPs. It was signed in 2001 and entered into force in May 2004.

In 1995, the United Nations Environment Program called for global action on POPs, which it defined as "chemical substances that persist in the environment, bio-accumulate through the food web, and pose a risk of causing adverse effects to human health and the environment".