One "Dirty Dozen" Down, More To Go

by Karen Wristen, Executive Director

Photo by Eric Loring.

When the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) was finally signed, those of us involved in the negotiations breathed a sigh of relief. Not because we thought the battle against toxic substances in the Arctic was over, but because we had reached a significant milestone that at times, had seemed beyond reach.

We knew the Arctic needed the kind of protection only an international treaty could provide. We knew that toxic chemicals including pesticides and dangerous residues from incinerators were collecting at alarming levels in the Arctic, brought there by winds and waters, and retained there by Arctic cold. We knew all of this thanks mainly to information from the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), a cooperative venture by scientists from the circumpolar countries, working under the auspices of the Arctic Council.

As we focus on what lies beyond the signing of the Stockholm Convention, AMAP is continuing to make us aware of the magnitude of existing challenges, and the identity of fresh challenges to the Arctic environment.

The first challenge is that the Convention needs to be ratified by a sufficient number of countries to come into force, so that the “dirty dozen” toxic chemicals named by the treaty will be almost universally subject to measures aimed at ultimately eliminating their production and use. Canada has ratified the Convention, but our government’s job does not end there. We must use whatever international leverage we have to encourage other countries to ratify swiftly. CARC is continuing its work with the International POPs Elimination Network, an international grouping of NGOs, to help persuade governments around the world that quick ratification is essential.

Adding new substances to that dirty dozen is also important. As you will read later in this journal, substances are just now being identified as potentially hazardous to the Arctic environment, and the peoples who live there. Some of those substances are POPs, such as a common chemical used to help stop fires in furniture and electrical equipment.

Another concern identified by AMAP is mercury. Recent studies have led scientists to double their estimates of how much of this toxic metal is being dumped on the Arctic every year. CARC is involved in a United Nations review of what action, if any, should be taken to control mercury. We fully endorse the calls by senior AMAP scientists for circumpolar countries such as Canada to take the lead in mobilizing international action on mercury.

Finally, we call on Canada and other circumpolar countries to ensure that the excellent work of AMAP continues. Without the continual monitoring and investigation provided by the programme, we would have little idea of the size and nature of the problem facing Arctic peoples and ecosystems, and international action might never have been taken.

Karen Wristen is CARC's Executive Director