- LONDON (Reuters) - The Arctic,
already a dump for Russian nuclear waste from the Cold War, is also rapidly
becoming a chemical sump for the globe, the World Wide Fund for Nature
said on Thursday.
-
- New research had found even higher concentrations of
banned pesticides like DDT in the Arctic environment than in the countries
that produced them.
-
- "This is a catastrophe for the Arctic," said
WWF UK toxics program head Elizabeth Salter Green. "Contamination
is increasing and more and more chemicals are being found in Arctic species."
-
- The environmental pressure group said some of the chemicals
-- found not only in the fat of Arctic species including fish, seals and
whales but also in the ice itself -- were affecting immune, hormone and
reproductive systems.
-
- It said the chemicals, including flame retardants and
those used in the manufacture of non-stick cookware, drifted north on sea
currents, became trapped in ice and were slowly released back into the
environment years later.
-
- "This trend will continue if we don't take action,"
Salter Green said. "Regulation of the chemicals industry has to improve
-- and quickly."
-
- Not only was it turning the Arctic into a chemical timebomb,
but its wildlife were suffering too as the pollutants entered the bloodstream
and went into vital fatty tissues where they remained for years, becoming
steadily more concentrated.
-
- "Arctic contamination has serious implications for
wildlife but also for the indigenous peoples who rely on these species
for food," said Salter Green.
-
- "Strong chemical regulation is needed to prevent
hazardous chemicals from reaching the Arctic in the first place,"
she added.
-
- The United Nations is already backing an international
clean-up operation to rid the Russian Arctic of a cocktail of toxic chemicals
left behind after the Cold War.
-
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