TOXINS IN THE ARCTIC

Warming ice threatens to pollute the Arctic

Science News presents a comprehensive study of thawing Arctic permafrost possibly releasing industrial pollutants. Permafrost is any soil, sediment or rock that remains frozen for at least two years. For decades, people have treated the frozen earth as staunch and largely immobile. Industries constructed infrastructure atop its firmness and buried their refuse within it – in some places, radioactive waste has been stored. The Arctic is warming rapidly due to climate change. The resultant unleashing of toxic substances could destabilise facilities such as mines and pipelines at more than 2,000 industrial sites, and further compromise already contaminated areas by the end of the century.