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By Kim Gamel, Associated Press

With the bang of a gavel, the convention on persistent organic pollutants, or POPs concluded in December in South Africa won widespread international approval from governments, environmentalists and industry after nearly two years of sometimes tense negotiations.

``We must put a stop to the use of poisons which threaten plants, animals and the environment in which we live,'' Swedish Prime Minister Goeran Persson said as he welcomed more than 500 delegates from 127 countries to the two-day signing conference.

The treaty is aimed at eventually eliminating all hazardous chemicals but lists 12 widely known as ``the dirty dozen'' for priority action. It was formally adopted Tuesday afternoon, with a signing ceremony on Wednesday.

The chemicals include PCBs and dioxins, plus DDT and other pesticides that are used in industry or created by improper waste disposal and have been shown to contribute to birth defects, cancer and other problems in humans and animals.

The treaty has been endorsed by U.S. President George W. Bush, giving him an environmental reprieve with European leaders and environmentalists worldwide who have heavily criticized his rejection of the 1997 Kyoto global warming treaty.

But while praising the U.S. administration for its strong endorsement of the hazardous chemicals treaty, Swedish Environment Minister Kjell Larsson reiterated his disappointment over the beleaguered accord to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

``I think it's quite sad that we won't be able apparently to get a strong common answer globally to the enormous challenge we are now facing in an area that is truly global _ climate change,'' Larsson said at a news conference.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief Christie Whitman, in Stockholm to sign the treaty, said proposals for alternative measures to address climate change would be forthcoming.

The administration maintains the Kyoto treaty would be harmful to the U.S. economy and would not receive congressional approval needed for ratification anyway.

Bush ``is fully prepared and enthusiastic to participate in initiatives that will actually receive ratification,'' Whitman said.

Environmental activists gave a thumbs-up to the hazardous chemical treaty's adoption but stressed it was only a beginning as they urged quick ratification and implementation, as well as the eventual addition of more chemicals to the list.

``What now remains is turning words on paper into action, especially in the United States,'' Greenpeace spokesman Rick Hind said.

Persson also called on his colleagues to quickly ratify the hazardous chemicals accord and give it strong financial support.

``Dangerous substances do not respect international or national borders,'' he said.

``They can only be fought with common strategies.'' Production and use of most of the chemicals will be banned as soon as the treaty takes effect, following ratification by at least 50 countries _ a process expected to take four to five years.

Most of the chemicals covered in the treaty no longer are used in industrial countries like the United States or Sweden.

But they remain popular in developing countries, break down slowly and travel easily in the environment, with traces of many of them found in pristine areas of the Arctic after having been transported by air currents from hundreds of kilometers (miles) away.

Canada, which has taken a leading role in the five U.N. Environment Program-sponsored negotiating sessions that started in 1998 in Montreal, was expected to be the first to offer ratification shortly after signing the treaty on Wednesday.

``It is very simple for us to ratify, we are already doing what the convention requires and we will be certainly vigorous with assisting other countries,'' Canadian Environment Minister David Anderson said in an interview. ``We hope others will follow.'' About 25 countries would be allowed to use DDT to combat malaria in accordance with World Health Organization guidelines until they can develop safer solutions.

A contentious issues was provisions for an international fund, possibly as much as dlrs 150 million, to help developing countries offset the costs of using cleaner alternatives.

Divisions also emerged on the question of timing for expanding the number of chemicals on the list, with Sweden and others pressing for early consideration of other potentially harmful substances and the North Americans insisting on rigorous scientific review first.

``It raises concern to the mind of countries that have limited scientific capacity as to how they can handle the larger number,'' the Canadian environmental minister said. ``They can handle the 12 and they're willing to go along with the 12.''