Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and Prior Informed Consent

The Aarhus Protocol on Persistent Organic Pollutants, also known as the POPs Protocol, is an amendment to a 1979 executive agreement called the Geneva Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP). It was adopted in June 1998 and entered into force in October 2003.  The POPs Protocol aims to eliminate or restrict production and use of many of the same POPs covered by the Stockholm Convention.

The Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent (PIC), also in effect since 2004, enables countries to make informed decisions about the importation of certain banned and severely restricted chemicals or severely hazardous pesticides formulations.



The United States has not yet ratified either the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants or the Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent. As a result, American delegations have only observer status with severely restricted ability to influence the proceedings, decisions or outcomes of these conventions. Under influence from European countries and environmental NGOs acting through delegations of developing nations, the conventions have demonstrated a willingness to add new chemicals to the PIC and POPs lists without adequate regard for scientific research on the health and environmental effects of these chemicals or the terms of the conventions.