”New” POPs in marine mammals in Nordic Arctic and NE Atlantic areas during three decades

The report describes the findings of a Nordic study aiming to depict possible trends in “new” contaminants in marine mammals in Nordic Arctic waters over three decennia. The “new” contaminants in focus are the brominated flame retardants, BFRs, methoxylated PBDEs, perfluorinated compounds including the PFOS family, and polychlorinated naphthalenes, PCNs. In addition, brominated dioxins and dibenzofurans were analysed in a subset of the samples. The study aims at giving a wide scope of the presence of a selection of these “new” contaminants in marine mammals in recent time and so far back as is possible with extracting samples from specimen banks. The marine mammal species analysed were fin whale, minke whale, pilot whale, white-sided dolphins, harbour porpoise, ringed seal and hooded seal. The study is the result of collaboration between Norway, Denmark/Greenland, Faroe Island, Iceland and Sweden. The funding for large parts of the project has been made available by the Nordic Council of Ministers via the working group on Akvatiska Ekosystemer

Micropollutants in wastewater in four arctic cities - is the treatment sufficient?

The four Nordic cities included in the present study form a gradient both in climate, from oceanographic temperate in Tórshavn at 620 N to arctic in Tromsø at 69.70N, and in population, from less than 6000 inhabitants in Sisimiut to close to 120 000 in Reykjavík. The cities are different and far apart but products from the sea has been mainstay to the economy and societal development. Thus, the management of sewage from the municipalities must maintain a clean and healthy marine environment. The wastewater treatment varies, from screening on fine mesh, via septic tank based purification solutions, to no purification at all. We measured the contaminants in wastewater streams and in recipient samples, and with that in hand assessed whether the wastewater treatment appeared sufficient, and if not, which mitigating solutions could be relevant for wastewater purification optimisation

"New" POPs in marine mammals in Nordic Arctic and NE Atlantic areas during three decades

Marine mammals hold a special position in the hearts of people inhabiting Nordic Arctic areas and in coastal communities around the North Atlantic Ocean as they are an essential part of the diet and traditional life-style. However, marine mammals are in a particularly vulnerable position as regards environmental pollutants, because of the large fat stores in their bodies which serve as a “magnet” to a large number of persistent and toxic pollutants.     A Nordic Council of Ministers supported collaboration between Norway, Denmark/Greenland, Faroe Island, Iceland and Sweden set out to look for possible trends in “new” contaminants in marine mammals in Nordic Arctic waters. The “new” contaminants in focus are the brominated flame retardants including the PBDEs, methoxylated PBDEs, perfluorinated compounds including the PFOS family, and polychlorinated naphthalenes. In addition, a subset of the samples was analysed for brominated dioxins and dibenzofurans. The marine mammals studied were fin whale, minke whale, pilot whale, white-sided dolphins, harbour porpoise, ringed seal and hooded seal. The study aims at giving a wide scope of the presence of  these ”new” contaminants in marine mammals in recent time and going back to the 1980s using samples from specimen banks