Environmental contaminants in Arctic human populations: Trends over 30 years

• Published in: Environment international 2024-07, Vol.189, p.108777, Article 108777
• Main Authors: Palaniswamy, Saranya, Nevala, Laura, Pesonen, Paula, Rautio, Arja, Järvelin, Marjo-Riitta, Abass, Khaled, Charles, Dolley
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Arctic populations; Arctic Regions; Biological Monitoring; Biomonitoring; Child; Emerging chemicals of concern; Environmental contaminants; Environmental Exposure; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental Pollutants - analysis; Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers - analysis; Human health; Humans; Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated - analysis; Persistent Organic Pollutants; Polychlorinated Biphenyls - analysis
• ISSN: 0160-4120; 1873-6750; 1873-6750
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2024.108777

•AMAP monitors Arctic POP levels, revealing persistent international regulation challenges.•Biomonitoring uncovers declining trends in legacy POPs, showing regulatory effectiveness.•Emerging Contaminants of Arctic Concern (ECAC) pose challenges, with inconsistent trends.•Regulated PFAS exhibit declining trends, while unregulated PFAS show increases in some populations.•Biomonitoring emphasizes the importance of assessing and addressing new emerging contaminants. Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) monitors persistent organic pollutant (POP) levels in the Arctic populations and assesses health effects related to exposure to them. Many internationally regulated POPs persist in humans and biota, while new Emerging Contaminants of Arctic Concern (ECAC), many of which are unregulated, present additional challenges. Biomonitoring offers valuable insights into temporal trends within human matrices, revealing critical information not only about the efficacy of international regulations but also serving as an early warning system for exposure and risks for human health. Data analyzed in this study is aggregated data presented in the AMAP Human Health in the Arctic assessments, which provide data on contaminant concentrations measured in human matrices from adults, and children across various population studies conducted in the Arctic since the 1980 s. Linear regression analyses were used to assess trends of various POPs including organochlorine (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), measured over time from the Arctic populations in Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Canada and Alaska (USA). Overall, decreasing trends were observed for PCBs and OCPs. Regulated PFAS showed decreasing trends, but increasing trends were observed for unregulated PFAS in certain populations. PBDEs showed decreasing or inconsistent trends in certain Arctic populations. Decreasing trends are observed for legacy POPs, but the trends for new emerging contaminants are inconsistent. More focus is needed on biomonitoring the new emerging contaminants of concern in the Arctic and their implications on human health.