Fisher B E
Environ Health Perspect. 1999 Jan;107(1):A18-23. doi: 10.1289/ehp.99107a18.
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) can travel thousands of miles, accumulate in the food chain, and persist in the environment, taking as long as centuries to degrade. POPs are known to play a role in birth defects, cancer, immune system dysfunction, and reproductive problems in wildlife. While the effects of POPs on human health are unclear, many researchers believe that long-term exposure contributes to increasing rates of birth defects, fertility problems, greater susceptibility to disease, diminished intelligence, and certain cancers. Twelve POPs have been identified by the United Nations Environment Programme as requiring urgent regulatory attention. They include the pesticides aldrin, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, hexachlorobenzene, mirex, and toxaphene. Of the remaining three POPs, polychlorinated biphenyls are industrial products (used in electrical transformers), and dioxins and furans are unintentional by-products of industrial processes.
持久性有机污染物（POPs）能传播数千英里，在食物链中累积，并长期存在于环境中，降解时间长达几个世纪。已知POPs会导致野生动物出现出生缺陷、癌症、免疫系统功能紊乱和生殖问题。虽然POPs对人类健康的影响尚不清楚，但许多研究人员认为，长期接触会导致出生缺陷率上升、生育问题、更易患病、智力下降以及引发某些癌症。联合国环境规划署已确定12种POPs需要立即进行监管关注。它们包括杀虫剂艾氏剂、氯丹、滴滴涕、狄氏剂、异狄氏剂、七氯、六氯苯、灭蚁灵和毒杀芬。其余三种POPs中，多氯联苯是工业产品（用于电力变压器），二恶英和呋喃是工业过程中的无意副产品。
