Abstract
To address concerns arising from possible increased human exposure in the Arctic and possible effects of POPs, all circumpolar countries agreed in 1994 to monitor specific human tissues for contaminants in the Arctic under the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program. Indigenous volunteers in eight circumpolar countries contributed blood samples that were analyzed for 14 PCB congeners and 13 organochlorine pesticides. The blood concentrations of POPs from the cohort study 2001-2010 were compared. The indigenous people from Chukotka had significantly higher levels of PCBs, hexachlorobenzene, chlordane derivatives alpha-chlordane, beta-hexachlorocyclohexane and lead than the people from the Nenets Autonomous Area (NAA). The level of some DDT and 4.4 DDE concentrations were significantly lower in blood in the NAA after ten years of observations. These differences among groups may represent regional dietary preferences or different contaminant deposition patterns across the Arctic.
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