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The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants entered into force on 17 May 2004 and targets 12 hazardous pesticides and industrial chemicals. The Stockholm Convention made its debut on the world stage in Punta del Este, Uruguay, from 2 to 6 May 2005, at a meeting of 800 government officials and observers committed to ridding the world of some of the most dangerous chemicals ever created. While the risk level varies from one persistent organic pollutant to another, they all share four properties: they are highly toxic; they are stable and persistent, lasting for years or decades before degrading into less dangerous forms; they evaporate and travel long distances through the air and through water; and they accumulate in the fatty tissue of humans and wildlife. It was the contamination of marine mammals and thus the presence of persistent organic pollutants in the human food chain of indigenous peoples in the Arctic that were among the first alarm signs, waking the world to the threats of these long lived, hard to break down, hazardous chemicals
