The first comprehensive look at persistent toxic substances
across the vast Russian Arctic reinforces what studies in other
Arctic nations have revealed: that indigenous people in this
northern swath of the world are inordinately exposed to
pesticides, industrial compounds, and heavy metals, with
uncertain health effects. Conducted by the Arctic Monitoring and
Assessment Program, the environmental research arm of the eight-
nation Arctic Council, the 4-year, $2.8 million study sampled
pollutant levels in the four major regions of the Russian
Arctic. The researchers found that samples of breast milk and
maternal and umbilical cord blood contained moderate to
extremely high levels of DDT, PCBs, mercury, lead, and
brominated flame retardants, among other chemicals. Due to
northward flows in rivers, oceans, and atmospheric currents,
persistent toxins released elsewhere, along with some local
contaminants, have accumulated heavily in many areas of the
Arctic, where frigid temperatures retard their dispersal and deg