US$4.3b on toxic chemical controling (Xinhua) Updated: 2006-06-22 08:56 Funding to control POPs will come from the central government, local
governments and domestic companies as well as international organizations and
foreign governments.
The Italian government has pledged to provide 7
million U.S. dollars in aid, the biggest sum pledged by a foreign government so
far.
The fifth meeting to discuss China's implementation of the
Stockholm Convention was held on Wednesday, with the attendance of more than 100
government officials and representatives from China, European countries, UN
organizations and Italia, Germany, Norway, Japan and Finland.
"The
Stockholm Convention can be successful only if it succeeds in China as the
country is very influential in combating POPs," said Zoltan Csizer, a senior
adviser of the UN Industrial Development Organization, at the meeting.
Of all the pollutants released into the environment every year by human
activity, POPs are among the most dangerous. They are linked with cancer,
allergies and hypersensitivity, and damage the central and peripheral nervous
systems, which also cause reproductive disorders and disruption of the immune
system.
According to the United Nations Environment Program, every
person in the world carries traces of POPs in his or her body. POPs are highly
stable compounds that can last for years or decades before breaking down.
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