China, one of the world's largest chemical products producers, is confronted with great challenges in reducing and eliminating the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) that exist in these products, Luo Yi, an official with the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), said in Beijing Monday.

Luo made the remarks at an international symposium on the impact of POPs in urban areas, cosponsored by the United Nations University and Sino-Japan Friendship Center for Environmental Protection in Beijing.

The Stockholm Convention on POPs, which was signed by China and 150 other countries in 2001, legally came into force on May 17. In the convention, 12 POPs--the "dirty dozen"--were listed as the initial control target.

POPs are chemical substances that persist in the environment, bio-accumulate through the food chain and pose a risk of causing adverse effects to human health and the environment.

"Every human in the world carries traces of POPs in their bodies. These chemicals are highly stable compounds that can last for years or decades before breaking down," said Li Guogang, chief engineer of the China National Environmental Monitoring Center.

According to Luo, among the nine pesticides included by the convention's POP list, five were once mass-produced in China and four are still produced and used in some places today. China has detected POPs in crops, fruits, tea leaves, animals and human bodies.

In certain parts of China, POP contamination is very serious, but China does not have adequate monitoring capability at present, Luo said.

SEPA has established a Stockholm Convention Implementation Office in Beijing and since 1999, Canada, Italy and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) have provided funding for China to gain a handle on POPs.

"The problem of POPs is a global issue, so we must join hands to eliminate them or we ourselves will suffer from it sooner or later," said Tsunao Kamijo, a symposium participant from Japan.

(Xinhua News Agency May 25, 2004)