Melting Arctic ice releasing banned toxins, warn scientists

Melting Arctic ice releasing banned toxins, warn scientists

Unknown amount of trapped persistent organic pollutants poses threat to marine life and humans as temperatures rise


The warming of the Arctic is releasing a new wave of banned toxic chemicals that had been trapped in the ice and cold water, scientists have discovered.

The researchers warn that the amount of the poisons stockpiled in the polar region is unknown and their release could "undermine global efforts to reduce environmental and human exposure to them."

The chemicals seeping out as temperatures rise include the pesticides DDT, lindane and chlordane, made infamous in Rachel Carson's 1962 book Silent Spring, as well as the industrial chemicals PCBs and the fungicide hexachlorobenzine (HCB). All of these persistent organic pollutants (Pops) are banned under the 2004 Stockholm Convention.

Pops can cause cancers and birth defects and take a very long time to degrade, meaning they can be transported for long distances and accumulate over time. Over past decades, the low temperatures in the Arctic trapped volatile Pops in ice and cold water.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/24/melting-arctic-ice-banned-toxins-pops

Where is my 3 monkey costume? Y'know, the one all America loves: Hear no evil, see no.....

Of course, I'd have to take off me tinfoiler cap first?