Wildlife expert tracks Arctic pollution
JB: This is Earth & Sky, on pollution in the Arctic.
DB: Todd O’Hara is a wildlife toxicologist at the Institute of Arctic Biology in Fairbanks. He studies how contaminants – PCBs, DDT, and other pesticide – reach the Arctic and move through the food chain. O’Hara talked about what happens to a pesticide applied to a field in the lower 48 states.
Todd O’Hara: That pesticide can then either enter the atmosphere or runoff into freshwater, and then it takes two different paths. If it enters the atmosphere, it can then what we call “grasshopper,” jump, or leap its way to the Arctic, where it’s colder and its vapor state is less favorable, so it’s more likely to stay in liquid in the ocean.
JB: From the ocean, pesticide residue works its way up the food chain, where it eventually reaches what O’Hara calls the Arctic’s top predators: polar bears, foxes, and humans.
Todd O’Hara: Clearly, the human residents we want to look at because of the public health concern. And that’s something that’s very important to emphasize, that we in the Arctic see wildlife health equals human health. They’re very integrated. People depend very much on these animals for their culture and their nutrition, so we don’t try to separate that in our studies.
DB: More about human sustainability at earthsky.org. Thanks today to NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. We’re Block and Byrd for Earth & Sky.
Our thanks to:
Todd O’Hara
Associate Professor of Wildlife Toxicology
University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Additional Teacher Resources
NOAA: Persistent Organic Pollutants in the Arctic
As early as 1970, when it was detected in the blubber of ringed seals, it was evident that DDT was present in the Arctic. By the mid-1970s, DDT and other pesticides had been detected in beluga whale, polar bear, and fish. Moreover, birds of prey declined in northern areas that were thought to be uncontaminated.
EPA: Persistent Organic Pollutants: A Global Issue, A Global Response
This booklet was created to raise awareness about the health and environmental impacts of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), to show what actions the United States and some other countries have already taken to address these pollutants, and to describe the actions set into motion by the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants to address this issue globally. The booklet explains the importance of the Stockholm Convention, a legally binding international agreement finalized in 2001. Participating governments agree to take actions to reduce or eliminate the production, use, and/or release of certain of these pollutants.
