Sustainable Development Law & Policy Volume 8 Issue 3 Spring 2008: Environmental Change in Polar Article 13 Regions

Persistent Organic Pollutant Accumulation in the Arctic Rachel T. Kirby

Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/sdlp Part of the Environmental Law Commons

Recommended Citation Kirby, Rachel T. “Persistent Organic Pollutant Accumulation in the Arctic.” Sustainable Development Law and Policy, Spring 2008, 31, 65.

This Feature is brought to you for free and open access by the Washington College of Law Journals & Law Reviews at Digital Commons @ American University Washington College of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Sustainable Development Law & Policy by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ American University Washington College of Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. mental harm in the Antarctic is increased. It will, I believe, Pin thee long r s run is exacerbate t e n the t likelihoodOr g of a scramble n i c for P impor-O l l u t a n t ac c u m u l a t i O n tant, scarce and economically viable resources. i n t h e ar c t i c by Rachel T. Kirby*

he Arctic is one of the last regions of the world that remains The Convention follows the precautionary principle and seemingly untouched by modern human existence. A allows parties to regulate additional chemicals even if complete Tcloser look, however, reveals the effects of pollutants scientific certainty of their adverse effects is lacking.15 Nonethe- on the human and animal populations in the Arctic. Persistent less, the positive effects of regulated POPs will not yield imme- Organic Pollutants (“POPs”) are toxic chemicals such as pesti- diate positive effects in the Arctic due to the large reservoir of cides and industrial by-products POPs remaining in the Arctic that break down very slowly in Ocean. the environment.1 POPs reach The Arctic environment is the Arctic from smokestacks and Each step in the food unique and serves as a warning factories all over the world and sign of the pressures humans then accumulate within the tis- chain creates a more place on the natural world. The sues of each animal in the food Arctic Council is a forum for chain. The higher on the food concentrated reservoir discussing issues facing the Arc- chain, the higher the concentra- tic as a whole, especially issues tion of POPs in the animal. of POPs. of environmental protection and The nature of the Arctic sustainable development.16 The environment causes POPs to Stockholm Convention provides break down more slowly and accumulate in the food chain with a worldwide framework and channel for countries to limit the more potency than they would in other environments.2 POPs harmful affects from accumulating POPs in the Arctic.17 In order arrive in the Arctic via atmospheric and ocean circulation pat- to provide the special protection that the Arctic requires, parties terns which bring pollution from human sources to the Arctic.3 to the Stockholm Convention should be ultra “precautious” and There, POPs typically enter the food chain through plankton in add additional POPs to the banned “dirty dozen.” More chemi- sea water. When the plankton is eaten by fish, POPs accumu- cals should be added to the Stockholm Convention before accu- late in the fish, which are then eaten by larger fish or mammals mulation of yet-to-be-banned POPs reaches dangerous levels in which accumulate more POPs in their fatty tissues. Each step in the Arctic. the food chain creates a more concentrated reservoir of POPs.4 The result of this cycle is that at the top of the food chain, Endnotes: humans, polar bears, and other large predators have chemical 5 levels high enough to cause health effects even though the near- 1 an n i k a ni l s s O n & he n r y hu n t i n g t O n , ar c t i c mO n i t O r i n g a n d as s e s s m e n t est source of contamination might be thousands of miles away.6 Pr O g r a m m e , ar c t i c PO l l u t i O n 8 (2002), available at http://www.amap.no/ (last visited Apr. 5, 2008). Reduced immune system function, reproductive effects, and 2 7 Sarah R. Hamilton, Note, Toxic Contamination in the Arctic: Thinking behavior changes have been observed in many predators. The Globally and Acting Locally to Protect Arctic Ecosystems and People, 15 cO l O . levels of POPs in some Inuit tribes in Greenland are so high that J. in t ’l l. & PO l ’y 71, 85–86 (2004). their breast milk and tissues could be classified as hazardous 3 David VanderZwaag et al., The Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy, waste.8 As a consequence, their infants show altered brain devel- Arctic Council and Multilateral Environmental Initiatives, 30 de n v . J. in t ’l l. & PO l ’y 131, 136 (2001). opment and suffer greater infection rates because of reduced 4 VanderZwaag, Id. immune system function.9 5 ni l s s O n & hu n t i n g t O n , supra note 1, at xi. While the eight countries with territory in the Arctic have 6 Peter L. Lallas, Current Development: The Stockholm Convention on established an Arctic Council to provide a forum to discuss Persistent Organic Pollutants, 95 a.J.i.l 692, 695 (2001). 10 environmental and other issues, the very nature of pollution 7 ni l s s O n & hu n t i n g t O n , supra note 1, at xii. in the Arctic requires a worldwide solution. In 2001, countries 8 Marla Cone, Ancestral Diet Gone Toxic, l.a. ti m e s , Jan. 13, 2004, at A1. around the world adopted the Stockholm Convention on Persis- 9 Cone, id. tent Organic Pollutants11 to reduce or eliminate twelve POPs (the “dirty dozen”), with provisions to include other substances Endnotes: Persistent Organic Pollutant Accumulation in the Arctic continued on page 65 in the future.12 The Stockholm Convention, which the United States has yet to ratify,13 is a step towards a real reduction or elimination of toxic chemicals from the environment in the Arc- * Rachel T. Kirby is a J.D./M.A. candidate, May 2010, at American University, tic and elsewhere.14 Washington College of Law.

31 Su S t a i n a b l e De v e l o p m e n t la w & po l i c y 11 See generally Pe r m a n e n t fO r u m O n in D i g e n O u s is s u e s se v e n t h se s s i O n , polar_bears_is_not_the_problem (describing that despite the significance of im P a c t O f cl i m a t e ch a n g e mi t i g a t i O n me a s u r e s O n in D i g e n O u s Pe OP l e s a n D protection of polar bears, polar bears are one of the major means of subsistence On th e i r te r r i t O r i e s an D la n D s , E/c. 19/2008/10 (Mar. 19, 2008), available for the Inuit) (last visited Feb. 29, 2008). at http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/E_C19_2008_10.pdf (citing 13 BBC News, Canada Signs Inuit Autonomy Plan (Dec. 6, 2007), available at market based mechanisms, carbon trading, agrofuels and especially avoided http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7130539.stm (last visited Feb. 18, 2008). deforestation (REDD) as examples). 14 Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Working Together: Strengthening 12 Jesper Jansen, Hunting Polar Bears is Not the Problem, Ar c t i c cO u n c i l , Global and Circumpolar Cooperation, http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/pr/pub/ Feb. 5, 2008, available at http://arctic-council.org/article/2008/2/hunting_ indigen/wkin_e.html (last visited Mar. 21, 2008).

en D n o t e S : Pe r s i s t e n t Or g a n i c PO l l u t a n t ac c u m u l a t i O n i n t h e ar c t i c continued from page 31

10 Evan T. Bloom, Current Development: Establishment of the Arctic Council, 14 Lallas, supra note 6, at 704–05. 93 am. J. in t ’l l. 712, 713 (1999). 15 United National Environment Programme, Ridding the World of POPs 12 11 Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, U.N. Doc. UNEP/ (2005), available at http://www.pops.int/documents/guidance/beg_guide.pdf POPS/CONF/4 (May 22, 2001), available at http://www.pops.int/documents/ (last visited Apr. 5, 2008). convtext/convtext_en.pdf (last visited Apr. 5, 2008). 16 Bloom, supra note 10, at 713. 12 Lallas, supra note 6, at 699. 17 Melissa A. Verhaag, Note, It Is Not Too Late: The Need for a Comprehen- 13 Daryl W. Ditz, The States and the World: Twin Levers of Reform of U.S. sive International Treaty to Protect the Arctic Environment, 15 ge O . in t ’l Federal Law on Toxic Chemicals, su s t a i n a b l e De v . l. & PO l ’y, Fall 2007, at en v t l . l. re v . 555, 576 (2003). 27, 29.

en D n o t e S : a ta l e O f tw O PO l e s continued from page 36

1 See International Polar Year website, http://www.ipy.org/ (last visited 22 Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears, Nov. 15, 1973, 13 I.L.M. 13, Apr. 18, 2008). pmbl. (1974) [hereinafter Polar Bear Treaty]. 2 li n D a nO w l a n , iucn, ar c t i c le g a l re g i m e f O r en v i r O n m e n t a l Pr O t e c t i O n 23 ar c t i c cO u n c i l , ar c t i c en v i r O n m e n t a l Pr O t e c t i O n st r a t e g y (1991), avail- 1 (IUCN 2001), available at http://www.iucn.org/themes/law/pdfdocuments/ able at http://arctic-council.org/filearchive/artic_environment.pdf (last visited EPLP44EN.pdf (last visited Mar. 1, 2008). Mar. 3, 2008) [hereinafter AEPS]; see nO w l a n , supra note 2, at 2 (noting 3 nO w l a n , id.; Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty that the AEPS came about following the Exxon-Valdez oil spill in 1989 and art. 2, Oct. 4, 1991, 30 I.L.M. 1455 (entered into force Jan. 14, 1998) increased recognition of the impacts of industrialization on the environment). [hereinafter Madrid Protocol]. 24 AEPS, supra note 23, at 6. 4 in t ’l cO u n c i l f O r sc i e n c e , a fr a m e w O r k f O r t h e in t e r n a t i O n a l PO l a r 25 About Arctic Council, Arctic Council website, http://arctic-council.org/ ye a r 2007–2008, 7 (2004), available at http://216.70.123.96/images/uploads/ article/about (last visited Mar. 1, 2008). framework.pdf (last visited Mar. 1, 2008) [hereinafter IPY Framework]. 26 About Arctic Council, id. 5 U.S. Dep’t of State, The Antarctic Treaty Background, available at http:// 27 Arctic Peoples: Arctic Council Indigenous Peoples’ Secretariat, Arctic Peo- www.state.gov/www/global/arms/treaties/arctic1.html (last visited Oct. 10, ples website, http://www.arcticpeoples.org/about/ (last visited Mar. 1, 2008). 2007) [hereinafter Antarctic Treaty background]. 28 Arctic Council Observers, Arctic Council website, http://arctic-council.org/ 6 Antarctic Treaty background, id. section/observers (last visited Mar. 1, 2008) (providing links to lists of coun- 7 Antarctic Treaty background, id. (noting that Argentina, Australia, Chile, tries and organizations with observer status); Declaration on the Establishment France, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom made claims of sover- of the Arctic Council, para 3, Sept. 19, 1996, available at http://arctic-council. eignty based on discovery). org/filearchive/Declaration%20on%20the%20Establishment%20of%20the%20 8 Antarctic Treaty background, supra note 5. Arctic%20Council.pdf (last visited Mar. 1, 2008). 29 9 Antarctic Treaty background, supra note 5. Arctic Council Rules of Procedure, annex 2, Sept. 17–18, 1996, available at http://arctic-council.org/filearchive/Arctic%20Council%20-%20rules%20 10 The Antarctic Treaty art. I, Dec. 1, 1959, 12 U.S.T. 794 [hereinafter of%20procedure.pdf (last visited Mar. 1, 2008) (outlining that the countries or Antarctic Treaty]. organizations have to explain how they would contribute to the Arctic Council). 11 Antarctic Treaty, id. pmbl., art. II–III. 30 Declaration on the Establishment of the Arctic Council, supra note 28, 12 Antarctic Treaty, id. art. IV(2). pmbl., para. 1. 13 Antarctic Treaty, id. art. VI (specifying “the area south of 60° South 31 See UNCLOS, supra note 20, arts. 55–75 (explaining how to determine a Latitude” as the area to which this treaty applies). country’s exclusive economic zone as an extension from its continental shelf. 14 Madrid Protocol, supra note 3, pmbl. However, not all of the Arctic Council countries have a coastline on the Arctic 15 Madrid Protocol, supra note 3, art. 2. Ocean). 16 Madrid Protocol, supra note 3, pmbl. 32 About Arctic Council, supra note 25. 17 Madrid Protocol, supra note 3, art. 2. 33 Arctic Council website, http://arctic-council.org/section/the_arctic_coun- 18 Madrid Protocol, supra note 3, art. 2(b)(i)–(v). cil (last visited Mar. 1, 2008) (linking to the chairmanship objectives for the current and upcoming chairs). 19 Madrid Protocol, supra note 3, art. 6 (noting the importance of co-operation 34 of nations). Arctic Council, Common objectives and priorities for the Norwegian, Danish and Swedish chairmanships of the Arctic Council (2006–2012), available at 20 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Dec. 10, 1982, 21 I.L.M. http://arctic-council.org/filearchive/Formannskapsprogram_ArcticCouncil. 1245, 1833 U.N.T.S. 3 [hereinafter UNCLOS]. pdf (last visited Apr. 17, 2008) (including in their plan ways to help improve 21 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 17 the health and living conditions of the indigenous peoples and to continue to I.L.M. 546, 1340 U.N.T.S. 61 (1983) [hereinafter MARPOL 73/78]. improve the efficiency of managing the Arctic Council).

65 Su S t a i n a b l e De v e l o p m e n t la w & po l i c y