Air pollutants emitted decades ago are coming back to haunt us. As the Arctic warms, persistent organic pollutants, or POPs, trapped in snow and ice are being re-released. This unwelcome return has been suspected for some time but is now confirmed by 16 years' worth of data.
POPs travel around the globe on winds, build up in food and water supplies, and accumulate in animal body fat. They have also been linked to serious human health problems, including cancer, and can be passed from mother to fetus. They have been banned under the Stockholm convention since 2004.
The new study looked at air concentrations of POPs up to 2009 in Svalbard, Norway, and in Canada's Nunavut province, and found an increase since 2000.
POPs travel around the globe on winds, build up in food and water supplies, and accumulate in animal body fat. They have also been linked to serious human health problems, including cancer, and can be passed from mother to fetus. They have been banned under the Stockholm convention since 2004.
The new study looked at air concentrations of POPs up to 2009 in Svalbard, Norway, and in Canada's Nunavut province, and found an increase since 2000.
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