Emerging and legacy organic contaminants in the polar regions | Umweltbundesamt

The report summarises and evaluates the current state of knowledge on organic contaminants in polar regions that have become significant concerns because of their persistence, bioaccumulation and toxicity potential. Climate change can also alter the biogeochemical cycling of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and emerging organic contaminants (EOCs). The report concludes that continual monitoring should be conducted for legacy POPs in polar areas. Further research is needed to understand the various biogeochemical and geophysical processes under climate change and anthropogenic pressures to be able to predict the environmental fates and toxicity risk of EOCs in polar regions.