Alarming concentrations of PFAS in the ice of the Norwegian Arctic provide a fresh threat to wildlife

 By Tom Perkins

February 11, 2023

                          According to new research, the harmful PFAS compounds are present in alarmingly high concentrations in the Norwegian Arctic ice and may be a significant environmental stressor for the region's fauna.

26 different forms of PFAS compounds were found in the ice surrounding Svalbard, Norway, as part of the Oxford University-led study, which also discovered that the chemicals can enter Arctic fjords and tundra as ice melts from glaciers.

The entire food web, including plankton, fish, seals, and apex animals like polar bears—which have been reported to have high blood levels of PFAS—can be impacted by a cocktail of toxins in the meltwater, including PFAS.

According to Dr. William Hartz, a primary author on the study, there is a "washout of toxins that happens annually... and some PFAS seem to be mobile during melts, which could be crucial to ecosystems downstream. He also highlighted a "doubling up effect" on animals as climate changes and ice melts. Svalbard has experienced a faster rate of climatic warming than the rest of the planet.

"Polar bears experience stress from a changing habitat and exposure to hazardous man-made pollutants," he continued.

A group of over 12,000 compounds known as PFAS is frequently employed to make thousands of consumer products resistant to heat, water, and stains. Because they do not decompose naturally, these substances are known as "forever chemicals" and have been linked to major health issues such as cancer, liver disease, kidney stress, troubles during pregnancy, and many others.

Researchers discovered two of the most hazardous PFAS chemicals, PFOS and PFOA, in ice at concentrations above US advised drinking water limits.

The study also discovered unusually high concentrations of TFA, a byproduct of refrigeration. Many countries decided to gradually phase out chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, a strong greenhouse gas used for refrigeration, during the Montreal Protocol in 1987. Eventually, hydrofluoroolefins, or HFOs, took their place.

The study and the results of earlier investigations have shown that TFA levels are rising in the Arctic, and that HFOs, which are also greenhouse gases, can transform into TFA once in the environment. Due to their great mobility, TFA and other PFAS chemicals have the potential to travel through the atmosphere and deposit themselves in the Arctic or other parts of the world.

TFA is believed to be less harmful than many other PFAS, but since the substance hasn't been properly examined, no one is sure what harm the compounds may be causing.

The authors wrote, "Limited knowledge about the safe levels of TFA in the environment has to be addressed."