PANNA: PCB's and Pesticides Found in Yu'pik People of Saint Lawrence Island

Alaska Community Action on Toxics recently reported alarming levels of contaminants in blood serum of people living and gathering food near a former military site on the Northeast Cape of Saint Lawrence Island. PCB residues were found to be 10 times higher and DDT and DDE levels 6 to 8 times higher than national averages among the Yu'pik people on the island. Both PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyls) and DDT are targeted for elimination in the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).

Saint Lawrence Island is located in the Bering Sea approximately 130 miles west of Nome, Alaska. Residents of the Island were exposed to a range of contaminants during the Cold War period when military operations were underway at the community of Gambell and the traditional fishing and hunting camp at Northeast Cape, which is about 35 miles from the Russian mainland. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is now responsible for the clean up of the two former defense sites.

"These results confirm that we continue to be exposed to contamination from the military site at Northeast Cape" said Jane Kava, Mayor of Savoonga. "Northeast Cape has always been an important place for our subsistence fishing, hunting, and gathering of greens and berries. The military sites must be cleaned up in order to protect the health of the people of Saint Lawrence Island."

The problem of improper disposal of PCBs and DDT by the U.S. military is compounded by the long-range transport of chemicals to northern latitudes. The Arctic has become a hemispheric sink for persistent organic pollutants because the chemicals are transported by wind and water currents, accumulate in the cold environment and concentrate within the fats of animals and people. "We had hoped that the U.S. legislation to implement the Stockholm Convention would address both issues, by eliminating those chemicals at the source and facilitating the clean up of military sites such as St. Lawrence Island," said Pamela Miller of Alaska Community Action on Toxics. But the POPs elimination legislation derailed by the Bush Administration in the U.S. Congress did not specifically address clean up of military sites.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a class of extremely persistent industrial chemicals used in electrical transformers, capacitors, inks, paints, pesticides, dust control and insulating fluids. DDT was used on mosquitoes and other biting insects in the arctic. "From talking with elders it is clear that DDT was used at the Gambell site, we believe that's why these levels were elevated in people from Gambell in particular," reported Pamela Miller.

Thousands of tons of PCBs, as well as DDT and other pesticides, remain in unlined landfills across Alaska, Canada and Greenland. Many are located on the coast or near freshwater, which provides a ready means to mobilize into the environment or the food chain. Elevated levels of PCBs have also been found in soils, water, plants and fish. PCBs cause adverse health effects at exceedingly low levels and can cause irreversible effects on brain development and IQ in infants. They are also known to cause immune system suppression, disruption of endocrine function, and certain kinds of cancers. Studies have documented health effects in people with comparable levels of PCBs as those found in the Saint Lawrence Island Yu'pik people. 

The study is a collaboration of the villages of Gambell and Savoonga, the SUNY School of Public Health and the Environmental Research Center of SUNY at Oswego, Norton Sound Health Corporation, with coordination by Alaska Community Action on Toxics. The project, entitled Environmental Justice for Saint Lawrence Island, is funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). The project partners are seeking to identify sources of contamination affecting the communities of Saint Lawrence Island, including the formerly used military sites and distant sources, and to determine whether health problems may be linked to environmental contamination. The collaborative work was prompted by Annie Alowa, a respected elder from Savoonga and health aide for 25 years, now deceased, who observed increases in cancer and other health problems that she believed were linked with the military site at Northeast Cape.

Source/Contact: Alaska Community Action on Toxics, 505 West Northern Lights Boulevard, Suite 205, Anchorage, Alaska 99503, phone (907) 222-7714, email info@akaction.net, website http://www.akaction.net.