Toxic Chemicals Banned 20 Years Ago Finally Disappearing From Arctic Wildlife
But the appearance of new chemicals is creating an uncertain future for polar bears, orcas and seabirds
By Joshua Rapp Learn
September 6, 2018
It may have taken decades, but regulations have finally led to a decrease in the quantity of dangerous chemicals in
“A lot of these bad chemicals are going down in the Arctic biota,†says John Kucklick, a research biologist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and one of the coauthors of a study published recently in the Science of the Total Environment.
But while concentrations of many older, phased-out chemicals are dropping, they still persist in some parts of the Arctic where they could be affecting marine mammals, seabirds, fish and even the northern people that subsist on these animals. Meanwhile, the study shows that newer chemical threats are starting to turn up in northern ecosystems.
Read more:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/toxic-chemicals-banned-arctic-wildlife-180970209/#2ltlmSKUOFjp4CRY.99
