Workshop on the Substitution of Hazardous Chemicals was held in Riga, 29-21 May 2010. Please find the presentations and report available for download in the download area of the homepage.
Baltic Actions for Reduction of Pollution of the Baltic Sea from Priority Hazardous Substances (BaltActHaz)
Due to economic activities of the human society, various chemical substances have been released to the environment. Some of these substances, once released, stay in the environment for very long time due to their persistence.
If they are also bio-accumulative, they accumulate via the food chain. If toxic, they exert harmful effects to the living organisms – plants, animals, humans. These so called PBT substances can be transported very long distances from the original emission source and they eventually can occur anywhere. Furthermore, if persistent substances cause an effect, the exposure will continue for a long period. The effects are practically irreversible. The ecosystems are not able to recover, e.g. the ecosystem of the Baltic Sea is suffering from the level of contamination and also humans are exposed to these substances via the food chain.
When hazardous substances accumulate in organisms and food chain, concentrations in the bodies may exceed levels above which adverse effects occur. Exposure to toxic substances can cause death and illness including disruption of the endocrine, reproductive and immune system, neurobehavioral disorders and cancer possibilities occur.
The problem of hazardous substances (PBT substances) in the aquatic environment has reached alarming dimension since longer time and it seems not yet to be solved: information and data on uses of these substances are still scattered and all obliged parties report lack of information about occurrence of substances and sources – still they are found in one-off surveys and also in research in Nordic countries, where a lot of efforts are put into their reduction. The new Baltic Sea Action Plan for example still considers a number of substances as occurring in the environment in such large amount that a separate chapter is dedicated to recommendations and demands for action to the contracting parties.
The project “Baltic Actions for the reduction of Pollution of the Baltic Sea from Priority Hazardous Substances” (BaltActHaz) is co-financed with the contribution of the LIFE+ financial instrument of the European Community /Project nr. LIFE07 ENV EE 000122/.