Melting arctic ice releasing long-held pollution

Warmer temperatures are melting arctic ice and re-releasing legacy chemicals back into the atmosphere.

Thu, Aug 18 2011 at 2:19 PM

Related Topics:

Global Warming, Pollution, Toxins & Chemicals

Photo credit: U.S. Geological Survey/Flickr

As if we didn't have enough to worry about with the pollution that we've created recently, a new study suggests that global warming is melting Arctic ice and causing toxic chemicals like PCBs and hexachlorobenzene, trapped years ago, to be released into the atmosphere. Many of the chemicals being released were banned decades ago.

According to an article in the journal Nature Climate Change, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are being released into the air and picked up by currents carrying them wide and far.

Some of these chemicals are dangerous for their greenhouse gas properties while others could find their way into the food web and cause major disruptions. It's a reminder of our dirty, industrial heritage and the sacrifices that we've made in getting to where we are today.

Click over to Scientific American to read more.

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