Contaminants in the Canadian Arctic: 5 years of progress in understanding sources, occurrence and pathways

Recent studies of contaminants under the Canadian Northern Contaminants Program (NCP) have substantially enhanced our understanding of the pathways by which contaminants enter Canada’s Arctic and move through terrestrial and marine ecosystems there. Building on a previous review (Barrie et al., Arct...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Science of the total environment 2000-06, Vol.254 (2), p.93-234
Main Authors: Macdonald, R.W., Barrie, L.A., Bidleman, T.F., Diamond, M.L., Gregor, D.J., Semkin, R.G., Strachan, W.M.J., Li, Y.F., Wania, F., Alaee, M., Alexeeva, L.B., Backus, S.M., Bailey, R., Bewers, J.M., Gobeil, C., Halsall, C.J., Harner, T., Hoff, J.T., Jantunen, L.M.M., Lockhart, W.L., Mackay, D., Muir, D.C.G., Pudykiewicz, J., Reimer, K.J., Smith, J.N., Stern, G.A, Schroeder, W.H., Wagemann, R., Yunker, M.B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Applied sciences
Arctic
Arctic Regions
Brackish
Canada
Canadian Arctic
Chemical contaminants
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Ecosystem
Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics
Environmental Pollutants - analysis
Environmental Pollutants - metabolism
Environmental Pollution
Exact sciences and technology
Freshwater
Global environmental pollution
Humans
Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated - analysis
Marine
Metals
Organochlorine
Pathways
Pesticides - analysis
Pollution
Pollution, environment geology
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons - analysis
Radioisotopes - analysis
Radionuclides
Temporal trends
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Summary:Recent studies of contaminants under the Canadian Northern Contaminants Program (NCP) have substantially enhanced our understanding of the pathways by which contaminants enter Canada’s Arctic and move through terrestrial and marine ecosystems there. Building on a previous review (Barrie et al., Arctic contaminants: sources, occurrence and pathways. Sci Total Environ 1992:1–74), we highlight new knowledge developed under the NCP on the sources, occurrence and pathways of contaminants (organochlorines, Hg, Pb and Cd, PAHs, artificial radionuclides). Starting from the global scale, we examine emission histories and sources for selected contaminants focussing especially on the organochlorines. Physical and chemical properties, transport processes in the environment (e.g. winds, currents, partitioning), and models are then used to identify, understand and illustrate the connection between the contaminant sources in industrial and agricultural regions to the south and the eventual arrival of contaminants in remote regions of the Arctic. Within the Arctic, we examine how contaminants impinge on marine and terrestrial pathways and how they are subsequently either removed to sinks or remain where they can enter the biosphere. As a way to focus this synthesis on key concerns of northern residents, a number of special topics are examined including: a mass balance for HCH and toxaphene (CHBs) in the Arctic Ocean; a comparison of PCB sources within Canada’s Arctic (Dew Line Sites) with PCBs imported through long-range transport; an evaluation of concerns posed by three priority metals — Hg, Pb and Cd; an evaluation of the risks from artificial radionuclides in the ocean; a review of what is known about new-generation pesticides that are replacing the organochlorines; and a comparison of natural vs. anthropogenic sources of PAH in the Arctic. The reseArch and syntheses provide compelling evidence for close connectivity between the global emission of contaminants from industrial and agricultural activities and the Arctic. For semi-volatile compounds that partition strongly into cold water (e.g. HCH) we have seen an inevitable loading of Arctic aquatic reservoirs. Drastic HCH emission reductions have been rapidly followed by reduced atmospheric burdens with the result that the major reservoir and transport agent has become the ocean. In the Arctic, it will take decades for the upper ocean to clear itself of HCH. For compounds that partition strongly onto particles, and fo
ISSN:0048-9697
1879-1026
DOI:10.1016/S0048-9697(00)00434-4