25 June 2021
POPS EFFECT ON WOMEN’S HEALTH

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are a special group of artificial organic compounds that pose a global threat to the health of humans and other living beings.

The most widespread manifestation of POPs on the territory of the Republic of Belarus is unsuitable pesticides. As a legacy of the USSR, our country has accumulated more than 10 thousand tonnes of obsolete pesticides, including those related to persistent organic pollutants, mainly DDT ("dust") and HCH.

Obsolete pesticides are hazardous waste in the form of plant protection products, prohibited for use, expired or deteriorated under other circumstances. Some types of obsolete pesticides (for example, organochlorine and mercury-containing ones) are classified as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and are prohibited by the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. POPs-containing obsolete pesticides are characterized by high toxicity, the ability to accumulate in the tissues of living organisms and be transported over long distances, and pose a real threat to the environment and human health.

POPs are mostly endocrine disruptors. POPs containing obsolete pesticides can affect human health in the long term. Exposure even in small doses can lead to an increased risk of cancer, reproductive and immune system disorders, neurobehavioral and endocrine disorders.

Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that disrupt processes controlled by the endocrine system. 

POPs effects on reproduction.

Obsolete pesticides containing persistent organic pollutants cause reproductive diseases in women.
Some pesticides are chemically similar to the sex hormone estradiol, which completely regulates the reproductive system.

Fetuses and infants are particularly vulnerable to persistent organic pollutants. Acting on the mother's body, POPs are transmitted through the placenta to the developing embryo, and through breast milk to the newborn. There is a high incidence of stillbirths, miscarriages, congenital malformations, diseases of the reproductive system in women exposed to POPs.

With prolonged circulation in the blood, POPs cause the development of pathologies:
Violation of sexual development. Violation of the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics, late onset of menarche (6.4 times higher in girls exposed to pesticides than in the comparison group). The frequency of menstrual irregularities when exposed to pesticides is 1.5-3 times higher than in women who are not exposed to pesticides.

Changes in the reproductive system of women affect the course and outcome of pregnancy. The effect of pesticides during pregnancy is conventionally reduced to the effect on the genetic apparatus (mutagenicity) and the effect of a non-hereditary way, for example, the development of placental insufficiency with a higher frequency of birth of premature and low birth weight babies (weakened offspring).

Preventive measures that can be taken:
- limited (restricted) consumption of food containing large quantities of fat (in this case, products that have not undergone sufficient sanitary control), because the most hazardous pesticides (organochlorine) are fat-soluble substances and therefore can selectively accumulate in lipophilic tissues (reducing the consumption of "fatty" foods is especially recommended for women planning to have a child and breastfeeding mothers, because pesticides can penetrate into breast milk and adversely affect baby’s health when breastfeeding);

- thorough washing of vegetables and fruits (in some cases, peeling);
- consuming fish or water from open water bodies located near landfills, burial sites and unregulated storage of pesticides.

Obsolete pesticides locations:
1. State Unitary Enterprise Complex for Processing and Disposal of Toxic Industrial Waste of the Gomel Region (approximately 5 thousand tonnes);
2. In special burial sites (more than 4 thousand tonnes);
3. In storage warehouses for obsolete pesticides (approximately 1.5 thousand tonnes).

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