Alarming levels of toxic PFASs, so-called “permanent chemicals” found in the ice around Svalbard, Norway, pose a significant risk to the region’s ecosystems, according to a new study.

A study led by scientists from the University of Oxford, published in Science Direct, measured the ice on the Svalbard archipelago where they were found. 26 types of perfluoroalkylated substances (PFAS). It was found that when ice melts, chemicals can be transported to the lower layers of local ecosystems, such as fjords and tundra.

Water from melting ice may contain a cocktail of pollutants affecting it the entire food chainfrom plankton and fish to polar bears.

“There is a washout of contaminants that happens seasonally… and some of the PFASs seem to move during the melt, which could be important for downstream ecosystems,” Dr. explains. William Hartz, head of research, notes that melting ice and climate change are having a “double impact” on animals.

“As a polar bear, you are exposed to toxic man-made chemicals and worry about your ever-changing habitat,” he adds.

PFAS are a group of approximately 12,000 man-made chemicals that are widely used to make thousands of products that are water, heat and stain resistant.

They are called “permanent chemicals” because they don’t dissolve naturallywith their presence associated with cancer, liver disease, kidney failure, fetal complications and other serious health problems.

Among the PFAS compounds found by researchers in the ice — in amounts exceeding US drinking water limits — were PFOS and PFOA, considered the two most dangerous.

High concentrations of TFAs have also been found, a by-product of refrigeration which, although considered less toxic than other PFASs, has not been well studied so the harm it may cause is unknown.

Source: Guardian