Long considered one of the most pristine places in the world, the Arctic has become a sinkhole for pollutants, scientists say.

Chemicals and chemical by-products from industrial nations drift to the north, where they enter the food chain and build up in the fatty tissue of animals that are consumed by Inuit people everyday.

That has left many Inuits worried about their traditional diet, heavy on fish and wildlife. Studies have shown that Inuit mothers have the highest levels of toxins in their breast milk than anywhere else in the world. The chemicals are linked to health and developmental problems.

Get the Story:
Poisons From Afar Threaten Arctic Mothers, Traditions (The Washington Post 4/11)
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Only on Indianz.Com:
Dioxins are everywhere (10/4)

Relevant Links:
How POPs threaten the Natural Environment and the Future of Indigenous Peoples - http://www.ienearth.org/pops_threat-p1.html
Persistent Organic Pollutants, the United Nations - http://irptc.unep.ch/pops

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