Chemicals Hazardous to Human Health and the Environment:

Many toxic chemicals are too hazardous to safely produce and use. Some travel across the world via wind currents or international trade and are deposited without respect to national borders. Some chemicals can bio-accumulate in the food chain and others can remain in the environment for a long time. Growing chemical production means greater problems everywhere in the world. Some types of hazardous chemicals include:

• Pesticides, such as DDT, lindane and endosulfan

• Toxic metals, such as mercury and lead

• Flame retardants, such as PentaBDE, OctaBDE, and HBCD

• Chemicals used in industrial processes and the unintended by-products of those processes (dioxins, for example)

• Chemicals formed and/or released during handling of e-waste from computers and other electronic products