The UN-ECE region covers the Russian Federation, the Newly Independent States, Central and Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Canada, and the United States. Negotiations on a global agreement on POPs will begin in late June 1998 under UN Environment Program auspices.
POPs are highly stable organic compounds used as pesticides or in industry.
They are also generated unintentionally as the byproduct of combustion and industrial processes. POPs are a special problem because they persist in the environment, accumulate in the fatty tissues of most living organisms, and are toxic to humans and wildlife. POPs with these characteristics are typically semi-volatile, enabling them to move long distances and condense over colder regions of the earth. POPs are defined as organic substances that possess toxic characteristics, are persistent, bioaccumulate, are prone to long-range transboundary atmospheric transport and deposition, and are likely to cause significant adverse human health or environmental effects near to and distant from their sources. A provision banning production and use of hexachlorobenzene grants a limited exception to countries with economies in transition.