Abstract
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can be used as chemical sentinels for the assessment of anthropogenic influences on Arctic environmental change. We present an overview of studies on PCBs in the Arctic and combine these with the findings from ArcRisk—a major European Union-funded project aimed at examining the effects of climate change on the transport of contaminants to and their behaviour of in the Arctic—to provide a case study on the behaviour and impact of PCBs over time in the Arctic. PCBs in the Arctic have shown declining trends in the environment over the last few decades. Atmospheric long-range transport from secondary and primary sources is the major input of PCBs to the Arctic region. Modelling of the atmospheric PCB composition and behaviour showed some increases in environmental concentrations in a warmer Arctic, but the general decline in PCB levels is still the most prominent feature. ‘Within-Arctic’ processing of PCBs will be affected by climate change-related processes such as changing wet deposition. These in turn will influence biological exposure and uptake of PCBs. The pan-Arctic rivers draining large Arctic/sub-Arctic catchments provide a significant source of PCBs to the Arctic Ocean, although changes in hydrology/sediment transport combined with a changing marine environment remain areas of uncertainty with regard to PCB fate. Indirect effects of climate change on human exposure, such as a changing diet will influence and possibly reduce PCB exposure for indigenous peoples. Body burdens of PCBs have declined since the 1980s and are predicted to decline further.
Highlights
The Arctic environment and ecosystems are changing
This review presents a comprehensive overview on Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that shows our current understanding of the complex relationships between sources, transport, bioaccumulation, exposure and health impacts of PCBs in relation to climate change, especially for Arctic environment and human populations
Secondary emissions of PCBs accumulated in environmental reservoirs are becoming more important than primary sources
Summary
The Arctic environment and ecosystems are changing. For example, the Arctic cryosphere—the major feature of the ma-. ΣPCB7 concentrations varied between 0.4 and 3.2 ng/g lw and are currently considered as background concentrations in Arctic zooplankton associated with the marginal ice zone These studies showed clear seasonal POP distribution differences that depend on environmental factors such as ice cover/melting as well as biological factors, e.g. feeding behaviour (Evenset et al 2016; Hallanger et al 2011b). A comprehensive modelling exercise was conducted in the frame of the ArcRisk project whereby a variety of model approaches was chosen to examine the influence of climate change scenarios on PCBs. The modelling expert group applied the following tools: Berkeley-Trent global contaminant fate model (BETR Research), Max-Planck Institute—MultiCompartmental Chemical Transport Model (MPI-MCTM), Danish Eulerian Hemispheric Model (DEHM) and coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model (ECHAM5MPIOM). The most relevant climate parameters that impact transport pathways of PCBs to the Arctic and environmental processes in the Arctic environment are changes in temperature, precipitation, sea and land ice cover and the global circulation of the atmosphere and the oceans
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