Meat from polar bears is one of the greatest sources of PFAS exposure in the hunting community Ittoqoortoormiit (Scoresby Sound) in Northeast Greenland. Credit: Rune Dietz
Key points:
- A remote hunting community was found to have the world’s highest levels of PFAS in their blood.
- The high concentration comes originates from the food supply, especially predators at the top of the food chain.
- Greenland has the highest concentration of PFAS, while Iceland has the least.
A new study has found the hunting community in Ittoqqotoormiit (Northeast Greenland) has some of the world's highest concentrations of PFAS in their blood—even though they live far away from sources of contamination.
PFAS is used in almost all industries and is found in many products, such as textiles, carpets, shoes, food packaging, cosmetics, fire foam and pesticides. The substances are long-range transported to the Arctic via the atmosphere and ocean currents. When they are released to the environment, PFAS is bio-magnified through the food chain. Predators at top of the food chain, such as ringed seals, toothed whales and polar bears, therefore have high PFAS concentrations, and the high levels in the indigenous population of East Greenland are primarily originating from their food.
The study, which was published in Lancet Planetary Health, shows that 92% of residents in Ittoqqortoormiit have far more PFAS in the body than the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recommends to avoid damage to the immune system. In addition, 86% of the inhabitants have blood values that are higher than EFSA's threshold value for serious risk of damage to the immune system.
The study shows that PFAS pollution is rampant, even in unlikely locations. According to the research team, levels of PFAS in the blood are highest in Greenland, followed by the Faroe Islands, Denmark, Australia, Sweden, Norway, Malaysia, the U.S., Taiwan, Greece, Poland, Spain and finally Iceland.
In February 2023, the European Chemicals Agency published a proposal to limit the production, use and marketing of more than 10,000 PFAS substances in the EU. As a rule, the use of PFAS will be banned in general in EU, but not in various pesticides. Similar actions are under way in the U.S.