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Chemical Cocktail Endangers Polar Bears

Even for polar bears, size matters. That’s bad news for these bears, since new research shows that industrial pollutants are entering their food chain and making their genitals shrink.

Researchers are concerned that the double whammy of global warming, which is thinning the polar ice caps and shortening hunting season for the bears, combined with shrinking genitals, could put a serious crimp in their ability to adequately reproduce.

The study looked at polar bears in east Greenland and found that the higher the level of organohalogens in the bear’s system, the smaller their testicles. For female bears, ovary size and weight decreased as contaminants rose.

The chemicals in question are used in flame retardants and pesticides, and they’re found in high levels in ringed and bearded seals, which are the main source of food for the bears. Scientists say the most affected species are polar bears in Greenland, Norway and Russia.

There’s also concern that the bears could be a sentinel species, pointing to potential adverse health impacts on other animals that eat seals, such as the Arctic fox and killer and pilot whales. The researchers also warn that humans could be affected in a similar fashion, if they eat foods contaminated with these chemicals.

Efforts to reduce industrial pollutants, such as the 1986 Montreal agreement banning some persistent organic pollutants (POPs), may be helping, but more needs to be done, scientists say. Since these pollutants persist in the environment, we may find them in food sources long after we stop using them.

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To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org