Alternative flame retardants and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in ringed seals (Phoca hispida) across the Canadian Arctic

Alternative flame retardants and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in ringed seals (Phoca hispida) across the Canadian Arctic Concentrations of alternative flame retardants and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were analyzed in ringed seal (Phoca hispida) blubber collected across the Canadian Arctic during subsistence hunts between 1998 and 2013. The presence of flame retardants in ringed seals suggests their persistence and their continuous inputs in the Canadian Arctic environment. Monitoring and research on the effects of these contaminants in seals are warranted given the importance of this species in Arctic marine food webs and for local communities. Supplemental Information The Northern Contaminants Program (NCP, http://www.science.gc.ca/eic/site/063.nsf/eng/h_7A463DBA.html) was established in 1991 in response to concerns about human exposure to elevated levels of contaminants in wildlife species that are important to the traditional diets of northern Aboriginal peoples. Early studies found a wide variety of substances, many of which had no Arctic or Canadian sources, but which were, nevertheless, reaching unexpectedly high levels in the Arctic ecosystem. The Canadian Cryospheric Information Network (CCIN, https://www.ccin.ca/) and the Polar Data Catalogue (PDC, https://polardata.ca/) have been developed over the past two decades through collaborative partnerships between the University of Waterloo and numerous government, university, and private organizations to provide the data and information management infrastructure for the Canadian cryospheric community. The PDC is one of Canada’s primary online sources for data and information about the Arctic and is Canada's National Antarctica Data Centre. Polar Data Catalogue Canadian Cryospheric Information Network Metadata Record: https://www.polardata.ca/pdcsearch/PDCSearch.jsp?doi_id=10780 2021-07-22 Environment and Climate Change Canada open-ouvert@tbs-sct.gc.ca Nature and EnvironmentNature and Biodiversity - ContaminantsArctic NCP RingedSeals PBDEs EFRs Concentrations EN FRCSV https://data-donnees.ec.gc.ca/data/substances/monitor/monitoring-of-contaminants-in-ringed-seals-from-the-canadian-arctic-and-labrador/alternative-flame-retardants-and-polybrominated-diphenyl-ethers-in-ringed-seals-phoca-hispida-across-the-canadian-arctic/NCP_RingedSeals_PBDEs_EFRs_Concentrations_EN_FR.csv Scientific Publication - Spatial and temporal trends of alternative flame retardants and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in ringed seals (Phoca hispida) across the Canadian ArcticHTML https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2017.01.023 Scientific Publication - Temporal trends in “legacy” organochlorine contaminants in blubber of ringed seals (Phoca hispida) from Ulukhaktok, NT, Canada between 1972 and 2010HTML https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.07.079 View ECCC Data Mart (English)HTML https://data-donnees.ec.gc.ca/data/substances/monitor/monitoring-of-contaminants-in-ringed-seals-from-the-canadian-arctic-and-labrador/alternative-flame-retardants-and-polybrominated-diphenyl-ethers-in-ringed-seals-phoca-hispida-across-the-canadian-arctic/ View ECCC Data Mart (French)HTML https://data-donnees.ec.gc.ca/data/substances/monitor/monitoring-of-contaminants-in-ringed-seals-from-the-canadian-arctic-and-labrador/alternative-flame-retardants-and-polybrominated-diphenyl-ethers-in-ringed-seals-phoca-hispida-across-the-canadian-arctic/?lang=fr

Concentrations of alternative flame retardants and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were analyzed in ringed seal (Phoca hispida) blubber collected across the Canadian Arctic during subsistence hunts between 1998 and 2013. The presence of flame retardants in ringed seals suggests their persistence and their continuous inputs in the Canadian Arctic environment. Monitoring and research on the effects of these contaminants in seals are warranted given the importance of this species in Arctic marine food webs and for local communities.

Supplemental Information

The Northern Contaminants Program (NCP, http://www.science.gc.ca/eic/site/063.nsf/eng/h_7A463DBA.html) was established in 1991 in response to concerns about human exposure to elevated levels of contaminants in wildlife species that are important to the traditional diets of northern Aboriginal peoples. Early studies found a wide variety of substances, many of which had no Arctic or Canadian sources, but which were, nevertheless, reaching unexpectedly high levels in the Arctic ecosystem.

The Canadian Cryospheric Information Network (CCIN, https://www.ccin.ca/) and the Polar Data Catalogue (PDC, https://polardata.ca/) have been developed over the past two decades through collaborative partnerships between the University of Waterloo and numerous government, university, and private organizations to provide the data and information management infrastructure for the Canadian cryospheric community. The PDC is one of Canada’s primary online sources for data and information about the Arctic and is Canada's National Antarctica Data Centre.

Polar Data Catalogue Canadian Cryospheric Information Network Metadata Record:

https://www.polardata.ca/pdcsearch/PDCSearch.jsp?doi_id=10780