Mobile phones, per 1 000 people, by region
DownloaD Graphic 2
Number of subscribers
Africa
600
Asia and the Pacific
Europe
Latin America and the Caribbean
500
North America
West Asia
400
300
200
100
0
Source: GEO Data Portal,
0 4
compiled from ITU 2005
199 1991 1992 1993 199 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
The production and use of chemicals has not always Contaminants affect people in even the remotest
been accompanied by adequate safety measures. regions. For example, contaminants reach the Arctic
Releases, by-products and degradation of chemicals, from all over the world through wind, air and water
pharmaceuticals and other commodities contaminate currents, entering the food chain. Inuit populations in
the environment and there is growing evidence of the eastern Canadian Arctic and Greenland have
their persistence and their detrimental effects on eco- among the highest exposures to POPs and mercury
systems, human and animal health. from a traditional diet of populations anywhere.
Many industrial chemicals persist in the environment,
circulating between air, water, sediments, soil and
biota. Some pollutants travel long distances to sup-
posedly pristine areas. Chemical emissions to the at-
mosphere often become fallout on land or water, for
example polychlorodibenzodioxins (PCDD) in Europe.
DownloaD Graphic 2
PCDD (dioxin) in the atmosphere and deposition, 2003
Atmospheric PCDD PCDD deposition
fg TEQ/m
3
ng TEQ/m
2
/y
< 0.1
< 0.1
0.1–0.5
0.1–0.2
0.5–1
0.2–0.3
1–3
0.3–0.5
3–5
0.5–1
5–10
1–3
> 10
> 3
Notes: TEQ = toxic equivalents;
fg = femto gram = 10
–15
;
ng = nano gram = 10
–9
.
Source: MSC-E 2005
52 VITAL GEO GRAPHICS HARMFUL SUBSTANCES AND HAZARDOUS WASTE