11 activists were arrested. Find out more and view the photos. The final signing of the treaty is scheduled for May 2001 in Stockholm, Sweden. Currently the treaty focuses on 12 of the most deadly chemicals. The treaty will include an addendum to add more persistent organic pollutants in the future.
Viable alternatives exist for virtually all known uses and sources of the targeted chemicals.
One of these corporate polluters, PPG is the 6th greatest cancer risk source. Since polyvinyl factories produce dioxin, dioxin levels in residents of this impoverished African American community are nine times higher than the U.S. national average. There is now hard scientific evidence that the worst of these toxics, persistent organic pollutants, are deadly in small amounts, travel long distances via air currents, cause life threatening illnesses, and endanger people and wildlife all over the world. In addition, scientists know that these pollutants migrate towards polar environments and have contaminated the food chain and the indigenous people who live there. Unfortunately some of the industrialized nations and producers and traders of toxics, including the United States, Australia, and Japan have been major obstacles during treaty negotiations, calling for a reduction instead of a ban on toxic pollutants.