Persistent organic pollutant

A persistent organic pollutant is an organic chemical that resists environmental breakdown and can accumulate in organisms or spread over long distances.

Bioaccumulation: The buildup of a chemical in an organism when uptake exceeds elimination. Persistent pollutants can accumulate in organisms because they are absorbed faster than they are broken down or excreted.
DDT: A synthetic insecticide once widely used in agriculture and disease-vector control. DDT is a classic persistent pollutant whose environmental persistence and food-chain effects prompted restrictions.
Rachel Carson: An American marine biologist and writer whose 1962 book Silent Spring challenged pesticide practices. Carson’s account of DDT’s ecological effects helped make persistent pesticide residues a public concern.
Arctic contamination: The presence of pollutants in Arctic environments, including chemicals transported from distant sources. Long-range transport and cold-region deposition can expose Arctic ecosystems far from emission sources.
Biodegradation: The breakdown of substances by living organisms, especially microorganisms. Rapid biodegradation is the opposite of the resistance to environmental breakdown that characterizes these pollutants.
Biomagnification: The increase in a chemical’s concentration in organisms at successively higher levels of a food chain. Persistent pollutants that accumulate in prey can reach especially high concentrations in predators.
Polychlorinated biphenyl: A family of chlorinated industrial compounds formerly used in electrical equipment and other products. PCBs exemplify industrial pollutants that persist in sediments and accumulate in wildlife.
Silent Spring: Rachel Carson’s 1962 book examining the ecological effects of pesticides, especially DDT. The book brought pesticide persistence and food-chain contamination to broad public attention.
Endocrine disruptor: A substance that interferes with hormone production, signaling, or action in an organism. Some persistent pollutants disrupt endocrine systems, linking environmental exposure to developmental and reproductive concerns.
Persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic substances: A regulatory category defined by persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity criteria. This broader policy category overlaps with persistent organic pollutants but is not identical to the treaty list.

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