Persistent Organic Pollutants and Heavy Metals (Including Mercury) - The Changing Arctic Environment: The Arctic Messenger - page 156

gree river and marine) transport has been dumping the wastes of industrialization in the
Arctic for more than the last 150 years. Levels have risen in top predators by at least 10
times over the same period, with evidence that the increase could be considerably great-
er. The progression of this increase can be seen by sampling hard tissues of animals that
lived during this time period, such as human, beluga whale and ringed seal teeth, polar bear
hair and falcon feathers. Many scientists have worked hard to trace the spatial and tem-
poral Arctic accumulation of mercury resulting from mid-latitude industrialization. I would
like to especially mention Rune Dietz, Eric Born and Frank Riget. Rune is a quiet and
uncompromisingly meticulous researcher who enjoys great respect from his coworkers. I
have worked with him periodically since 1981, when we were involved in marine studies
between Baffin Bay and Greenland. In a study published in 2011, Rune and his colleagues
described results from 117 north-west Greenland polar bear hair samples taken between
1892 and 2008. In addition to modern material, they analysed older material obtained from
dated museum specimens. Mercury concentrations showed yearly significant increases of
1.6-1.7% from 1892 to 2008. The concentrations in the 2006 and 2008 sample sets were
23- to 27-fold higher, respectively, than the baseline level from 1300 AD in the same re-
gion. Figure 8.5 provides a summary of this work and shows how Hg concentrations have
substantially increased in polar bears over the last 100 years in Greenland and north-east
Arctic Canada. The figure also indicates the potential health significance of these levels by
comparing them to several established effects and guideline levels. Note that the x-axis is
logarithmic.