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Arctic wildlife contaminated

'Nobody knows what the long-term effects are'

Tara Kearsey
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Oct 21/02) - Polar bears in the Canadian Arctic are being exposed to high levels of mercury and fossil fuel emissions, but government officials claim that doesn't give Nunavummiut reason to panic.

The World Wildlife Fund released the Arctic Pollution 2002 report Oct. 1.

It reports alarmingly high levels of mercury and toxic chemicals present in some Inuit populations and wildlife such as polar bears, whales and seals.

The report explains these chemicals -- know as Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) -- are produced by the burning of coal in Southeast Asia. They are transported to the Arctic via wind and water currents.

It blames the high levels on the tendency for poisons to "accumulate to higher and higher levels through the arctic food chain."

But the reasons for existing elevated levels of contaminants in the soil can also be attributed to activity at Nanisivik and Polaris mines, said polar bear biologist Mitch Taylor.

"The contaminants get into the food chain, get taken up by the organism and ends up in marine wildlife like polar bears.

"It's been sort of that way for time in memorial, so I don't really see it as a huge conservation problem," he said.

But Markus Dyck, polar bear technician for the Department of Sustainable Resources, said the presence of these contaminants brings about considerable concern.

"Nobody knows what the long term effects are.

"They could have an effect on reproduction, fertility and also consumption-wise," he said.

But Dyck said he "thinks" it is still safe to eat traditional country food, but it should be eaten in moderation.

"It probably also depends on the amounts, how much you eat, but I think right now here in this area, the levels are lower than they are in Norway and other places where these studies have been done," he said.

The World Wildlife Fund also conducted testing in Norway, Greenland and other Arctic countries.

To reduce the harmful effects of these toxic chemicals on Arctic residents and wildlife, Dyck said it's time to get the Kyoto Accord signed to ensure these harmful pollutants are banned globally.

The WWF is also pressuring Russia and the U.S. to ratify the Stockholm Convention on the abolition of POPs.

"The politicians have to put their brains together and try and get all of these different emissions somehow reduced," said Dyck.

The Department of Sustainable Development conducts ongoing testing on animals harvested in Nunavut in order to keep tabs on the levels of toxic chemicals.

But Dyck said so far he has not seen any reports released.

"We take some fat samples and muscle tissue and send them down to Canadian Wildlife Service and they have a database where they analyze it for all different kinds of contaminants and toxins," he said.

WWF Canada is currently following up on levels of wildlife contamination in Arviat, Coral Harbour and Pangnirtung.