The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants banned nine pesticides, as well as common chemicals like PCBs and dioxin. All were banned because they accumulate in the tissues of living things, including humans, because they are all but indestructible once released into the natural world, and because they can spread across the globe with weather patterns and migrating animals. Not to mention that they have been linked to a range of health issues, including cancer and reproductive and developmental problems.

"Chemicals have contributed to human well-being across a range of areas from medicine and foodstuffs to agriculture and industrial processes," said Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environment Program. "However, as science gains greater insight into their effects, we are fast understanding that some substances now pose real risks to humans and the wider environment, often invulnerable communities such as can be found in parts of the Arctic. Eliminating, restricting and accelerating a switch to better alternatives must be our goal."

The new candidates include: Pentabromodiphenyl Ether, Octabromodiphenyl Ether, Chlordecone, Lindane, Alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane, Beta-hexachlorocyclohexane, PFOS, Hexabromobiphenyl, and Pentachlorobenzene.