by Fiji Times

FIJI--A National plan to reduce the use of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) is being drafted by the Department of Environment.

Pollutants are man-made, toxic, chemicals found in air, water and even in food.

In a press release, the department said POPs was a global problem because they travelled long distance by air and sea.

"Although many of the highly toxic POPs have been banned in Pacific Islands some of them are still used and produced," said the department's POPs project assistant Alisi Buke.

"The most serious form of by-products produced in Fiji unintentionally by households are dioxins and furans."

She said the chemicals were released to the environment through burning of wood, plastic and paper.

"The chemicals can cause serious illness such as cancer, tumour, memory loss and damage to the nervous system.

"One way to reduce the release of the chemicals to the environment is to recycle waste products," Ms Buke said.

Recognising the problem, governments across the world signed the Stockholm Convention on POPs in an attempt to get rid of some of the hazardous chemicals.

Fiji was the second country in the world to ratify the convention in 2001.

A team of consultants was selected by the Environment Department to prepare a national implementation plan for the convention.

The team includes Melchoir Mataki from the University of the South Pacific's Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development, Professor Bill Aalbersberg from the Institute of Applied Science and Dr Bruce Graham, an expert from New Zealand.

The aim of the convention is to protect humans and the environment from persistent organic pollutants (POPs).