Page images
PDF
EPUB

exacerbated by the fact that the contaminants may be transported from their points of disposal by movement of sea ice, ocean water, and sediment.

Materials that have been introduced into the Arctic Ocean and atmosphere by the former Soviet Union include liquid radioactive waste, fueled and unfueled nuclear reactors from submarines and icebreakers, sealed barrels of solid and mixed radioactive waste, and other nonradioactive hazardous and toxic waste. Other nations have also contributed significant concentrations of contaminants to the Arctic. High trace-metal accumulations, some of which may be natural, are found at many sites in the non-U.S. Arctic. No information has been collected to indicate that critically high levels of trace-metal contamination exist in Alaskan samples.

Of particular scientific concern is the fact that study of the movement of sea ice, ocean water, and sediment has been insufficient to make the kind of reliable predictions of the trajectories of pollutants that have been made in other oceans. Another concern is the freezing into sea ice of contaminants disposed of in the shallow seas. Once frozen in sea ice, these contaminants can travel long distances without being diluted. If the contaminated sea ice were to reach the warmer waters of the Chukchi or Bering Sea, the melting and release of the contaminants into the ecosystem could affect marine mammals and fish.

Participants in the workshop identified and summarized existing data about arctic contamination and determined that too little credible scientific information exists to perform a detailed risk assessment of the effects of contamination on human health and on the health of the arctic ecosystem. Workshop presentations

If the contaminated sea ice were to reach the warmer waters of the Chukchi or Bering Sea, the melting and release of the contaminants into the ecosystem could affect marine mammals and fish.

about the extent, magnitude, and timing of marine, terrestrial, and atmospheric contamination in the Arctic were compiled in a special issue of the journal Arctic Research of the United States, edited by the USGS, and published in March 1994.

A primary result of the workshop has been a USGS-led international effort to identify scientific institutions in Europe, Asia, and North America holding existing arctic environmental data and information sets that can be used to develop baseline information about arctic contaminants. Working with the United Nations Environmental Programme's Global Resources Information Database, the Russian Ministry of Environmental Protection, and representatives from the arctic rim nations, the USGS has taken the lead role in coordinating the development of an international directory of arctic environmental data.

Bruce Molnia

coordinates international polar and environmental programs for the USGS and was instrumental in organizing the U.S. Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee Workshop

For more information on Arctic contamination, contact:

Telephone (703) 648-4120
Internet bmolnia@usgs.gov

[merged small][graphic][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed]
[graphic][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed]
[subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][merged small][graphic][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][merged small][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][merged small][merged small][subsumed][merged small]
[blocks in formation]
« PreviousContinue »