Persistent

The State of Washington also requires that a certain group of chemicals that are persistent (ie last for hundreds of years) be managed as hazardous waste.

These persistent chemicals also happen to be toxic. They also tend to accumulate in the fat layers of animals (and people). They then travel up and accumulate at the top of the food chain, as the diagram to the left shows.

Examples:

• methylene chloride
• some pesticides, including DDT