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"Toxic faeces from Arctic seabirds may explain mysterious and dangerous levels of pollutants in northern coastal ecosystems, a Canadian team of researchers suggests.: The finding could help at-risk native communities create hunting and food-harvesting strategies to reduce the amount of toxic chemicals in their diet.
�Seabirds are very efficient concentrators of contaminants. If we can show that these chemicals flow in a predictable pattern, then we can alleviate the human problems just by altering food choices,� says Jules Blais at the University of Ottawa, lead author of the study.
For years, environmental chemists have been watching as toxic chemicals such as mercury, dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) accumulate in Arctic air, soils, water, animals and people. Native populations of northern regions are amongst the most PCB-exposed in the world. "