ABSTRACT
The very same properties that once made certain chemical compounds valuable in industry, are today resulting in serious health hazards in humans and wildlife (Colborn et al. 1993, Mocarelli et al. 2008). Over the past three decades, authorities have become increasingly aware of the potential adverse health effects of chemical pollutants and studies addressing this environmental matter have indicated that persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are of particular concern. Persistent organic pollutants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), are synthetic compounds with great chemical stability and are commonly found in aquatic and terrestrial organisms (Jones and Voogt 1999). POPs constitute a large group of lipophilic chemicals that tend to bioaccumulate in animals and humans, thus contributing to a long-term toxic exposure and these are listed in the Stockholm Convention on POPs (UNEP 2011).
