Seminar on Persistent Organic Pollutants

The seminar

POPs (Persistent Organic Pollutants) and PCBs are toxic chemicals that hard to decompose, resistant to natural degradation, persist for long periods of time in the environment, capable of long-range transport, able to bioaccumulate in human and animal tissues and  biomagnify in food chains.

Due to having such properties as stable, non-flammable, heat resistant and chemical-corrosion resistant, PCBs have been used as a common dielectric in transformers, capacitors, softener in PVC synthetic rubber, a component in paint, ink and paper that do not contain carbon, adhesives, lubricants, substances to weld and so on.

The purpose of the seminar was to disseminate information to the media in the southern provinces on the present condition of PCB residues in Vietnam and the effects of PCBs to human health and natural environment.

Reportedly, "PCB Management in Vietnam” Project was approved by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and formally implemented from January 3, 2010 to 2014 all over 63 provinces and cities in the nation. The overall objective of the project is “to build a national ability for Vietnam to be able to manage PCB and safely store a huge amounts of PCB in the provinces for disposal in the future."

Reported by T.Canh, Translated by Minh Minh