SWAN Village-to-Village Messaging System: Goals

Goals

Posted by Margaret on 3/21/2008, 3:03 pm, in reply to "Science for Conservation"
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Goals for Establishing a U.S. Arctic Contaminants Program

Educate people about contaminants and their impacts on humans and wildlife in the U.S. Arctic ecosystems

Commit resources for a long-term research and monitoring program to assess and track contaminants in Alaska's Arctic ecosystems

Strengthen partnerships between federal and state agencies, universities, Alaskan Native tribes and organizations, and communities to address critical contaminant issues

Reduce and eliminate exposure to persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals through strong national initiatives and international agreements, such as the POPs Treaty

What are Persistent Organic Pollutants and
Their Potential Impacts in the Arctic?

Toxic chemicals accumulating in the Arctic include persistent organic pollutants, or POPs, such as DDT and PCBs, and heavy metals, including mercury, cadmium, and lead. While some heavy metals provide essential micronutrients, others are naturally toxic. All metals have serious negative effects at high concentrations.

POPs and heavy metals are particularly troublesome in the Arctic because they:

Travel long distances in air and water currents, are transported by some migratory animal species, and tend to get trapped in colder environments

Persist long after they are released and move from air and water into soil, plants, animals and humans

Magnify in living organisms: POPs accumulate in fat; heavy metals generally accumulate in organs and muscle

Cause adverse effects, sometimes at very low levels of exposure

Evidence is increasing from scientific studies of humans and animals that exposure to POPs and heavy metals can result in significant adverse effects, particularly when the exposure occurs during the early stages of life. These effects include:

Reproductive effects: reduced ability to conceive and carry offspring

Immunological effects: decreased ability to fight off disease

Neurological and developmental effects: reduced growth and permanent impairment of brain function

Cancer: a number of POPs are known or suspected carcinogens

We do not know, however, the significance of exposure to these pollutants for people and wildlife living in Arctic environments. A major effort is required to improve our understanding of the effects of exposure to generally low levels of contaminants on human and animal populations.

POPs at a Glance

POPs are human-made chemicals that are highly resistant to breakdown by ordinary natural processes. There are three categories:

industrial chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB)

industrial waste byproducts such as dioxins and furans

pesticides such as DDT and chlordane