At the International Polar Year conference in Montreal in April 2012, the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) released their third assessment report which focused exclusively on mercury. The overarching goal of the AMAP assessment was to address the question “What controls mercury levels in the Arctic and what are the effects on Arctic biota?” and it provided key policy-related science recommendations.

The mercury assessment report was written by national scientific experts from eight Arctic countries. Ten expert scientists from Environment Canada’s Science & Technology Branch co-authored and contributed significantly to the science described in the report including: Ashu Dastoor, Amanda Cole and Alexandra Steffen from Atmospheric Science and Technology Directorate; Birgit Braune, John Chetelat, Tony Scheuhammer and Rob Letcher from Wildlife and Landscape Science Directorate; and Derek Muir, Marlene Evans and Jane Kirk from Water Science and Technology Directorate.

Mercury is a major concern in the Arctic, where prevailing winds result in the long-range transport and deposition of the pollutant in the fragile environment. Understanding the impacts of mercury on human health and the environment in the Arctic is a priority for the federal government and contributes to the Northern Contaminants Program, the Chemicals Management Plan, the Risk Management Strategy for Mercury, the Environment Canada-led Federal Integrated Northern S&T Strategy, UNEP’s negotiations for a legally binding global agreement for mercury, and the Arctic Council’s Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme. The AMAP is a working group for the Arctic Council that provides scientific assessments on the state of the Arctic environment.

The report entitled: “AMAP Assessment 2011 Mercury in the Arctic” can be found online. 

Contact: Sandy Steffen, 416-739-4116, Air Quality Research, Atmospheric Science and Technology