POPS PRODUCERS
POPs
PESTICIDES
| The
majority of the UNEP POPs pesticides are banned or restricted in
many, but not all, countries. Most of the ongoing production takes
place in newly industrialising countries. For example, DDT production
is believed to be taking place in India and China. In general, information
on companies producing POPs and specific production volumes is lacking.
But even after production has ceased, the POPs that have already
reached the environment or that are still in use or stockpiled may
contaminate the environment for many years to come. |
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Many
of the world leading chemical companies -like Shell, Ciba-Geigy and
ICI - have been involved in the manufacture of POPs and sometimes played
a crucial role in the development and production of POPs that are now
threatening the environment.
DDT, the first of the chlorinated organic insecticides, was originally
produced in 1873, but it was not until 1939 that Paul Muller of Geigy
Pharmaceutical in Switzerland discovered the effectiveness of DDT as
an insecticide. DDT was introduced on the market in 1946 by Ciba-Geigy
AG and Paul Muller was awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine and physiology
in 1948 for this discovery. Total production figures are in the range
3 million tonnes (Vancouver 1995) and current production is estimated
to be 30,000 tonnes (WWF 1998). Shell introduced aldrin and dieldrin
on the market around 1950. Lindane was introduced on the market by ICI
in 1942 and endosulfan by Hoechst in 1956 (both are non-UNEP list POPs).
Production Table 1997
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