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Persistent organic pollutants

Biologists have long known that polar bears as well as other arctic animals carry toxic chemicals known as persistent organic pollutants — or POPs — in their bodies. Those chemicals, which include such substances as PCBs, damage immune, digestive and reproductive systems. Now new tests have found a wide range of previously undiscovered contaminants in polar bears around Hudson Bay.

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210 chemicals found

Environment Canada researcher Robert Letcher and his colleagues tested for 295 POPs. They found a total of 210 “with some frequency” in fat and liver samples collected from 41 bears that had been harvested in 2013-14 from the western and southern shores of Hudson Bay.

Levels vary widely

The levels of contamination varied widely among the chemicals. Most were found in the range of parts per billion. Some, such as one chemical used as a water repellent for fabrics, were approaching parts per million.