POPs and Why They Matter

Submitted by Anna Godduhn
Phone: (907) 474-5125
11/12/02

A discussion about POPs (persistent organic pollutants) and why they matter will be held in Schaible Auditorium, Bunnell Building on the UAF Fairbanks campus, Friday, Nov. 22. A small reception begins at 6 p.m., followed by guest speakers at 6:30 p.m.

POPs are super-stable carbon compounds that have been distributed throughout the world (PCBs, DDT, and dioxin are the most famous). They are more like oil than water, so they make their way into fatty tissue and, because they are persistent, they tend to stay. They can cause harm by interfering with hormone function and, in pregnant females, development of the unborn. Each of us has a different profile of these compounds in our fat and blood, but we all have some. While human health impacts are hard to prove, laboratory and wildlife studies demonstrate subtle but serious effects which are not necessarily apparent at birth.

POPs are a global problem, but polar regions are especially vulnerable to their accumulation because of the extreme cold and the fat rich food webs, making this a very serious issue for subsistence users. Each year, pollution is carried north by the original world wide web of wind, water, and wildlife.

How much is too much? How will we know? What is being done? Come learn about these issues from people working in the field: Karen Perdue, associate vice president for health at the University of Alaska; Cathy Cahill, atmospheric scientist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks; Keith Mueller, biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Mike Bradley, epidemiologist with the Alaska Native Health Board; Patricia Cochran, executive director of the Alaska Native Science Commission; and Karen Erickson, political scientist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

For more information, contact Anna Godduhn at (907) 474-5125 or ftarg@uaf.edu.