Northern contaminants: sources, pathways and fate
Transcript
In Canada's North, contamination from mercury and persistent organic pollutants, or POPs, has been studied extensively for more than 25 years by the Northern Contaminants Program.
Most of this contamination comes from sources outside Canada, including from other continents.
In the early 20th century, large-scale production of industrial and agricultural chemicals began, including POPs, like PCBs and the pesticide DDT.
While some of these widely- used POPs are no longer in production or use, the development of new POPs continues and can be found in common products, such as brominated flame retardants added to furniture, and fluorinated stain repellents in upholstery and clothing.
Emissions of POPs occur during their production, use and disposal and can then enter the atmosphere, bodies of water and land surfaces.
Mercury is an element that naturally exists in the environment; however, large amounts of mercury have been emitted to the atmosphere by human activity since the dawn of the Industrial Age, primarily through coal combustion.
Contaminants can travel to Canada’s North through the atmosphere in a matter of days or weeks, or through ocean currents over a period of years.
They can also be carried to the Arctic by rivers from within their watersheds.
Once in the Arctic, POPs and mercury in the Arctic’s atmosphere can deposit on the land, water, ice and snow.
Because of the cold climate and the nature of these contaminants, they tend to persist in the Arctic environment where they can be taken up into the food web.
Through support for national and global action, the Northern Contaminants Program aims to reduce sources of long-range pollutants in the Arctic and provide information that helps Northerners make informed choices about the foods they eat.
For more information, please visit our website: science.gc.ca/ncp.