The Center for Education and Socialization was part of an interesting workshop in Banja Luka called “POPs substances and their impact on health and the environment”, organized by UNDPBIH. The workshop brought together BiH experts in the field of environmental protection and waste management, representatives of the Institute of Public Health and activists of non-governmental organizations that deal with environmental issues in BiH and who agreed that the approach to the problem of #POPs substances must be multidisciplinary, in order to correctly interpret and adequately respond to this issue.

POPs chemicals (Persistent Organic Pollutants) represent long-term organic pollutants, i.e. organic compounds that are toxic to humans and other living things, bioaccumulative and persistent in the environment. These compounds are resistant to photolytic, chemical and biological degradation, which allows them to remain unchanged in the environment for a long time. POPs chemicals are poorly soluble in water and very well in fats, so they easily pass through the phospholipid structures of biological membranes, after which they are deposited in adipose tissue and other tissues with a high lipid content. POPs chemicals are usually partially volatile, which allows their long-range atmospheric transport. All these properties ensure the wide distribution of these compounds in the environment, even in those regions where they have never been used.

The event was organized as part of the #UNDPBiH project “Environmentally acceptable management of persistent organic pollutants in the industrial and waste management sector in BiH” funded by Sweden.