Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are iconic. Many people
are deeply interested in them; be it as a result of anthropomorphic
labelling, mystification, aesthetics, cultural reverence,
science or - just plain wonder.
The northeastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of British
Columbia serves as habitat to some 700 killer whales comprising
3 different populations. This is believed to be one of
the most densely populated areas for killer whales in
the world, but . . . the killer whales of the northeastern
Pacific are in trouble. There are concerns about the effects
of boat traffic, food supply and, highly significant,
the bioaccumulation of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).
http://atlas.gc.ca/site/english/index.html
Recent research relating specifically to the PCB loads
of the killer whales has confirmed that these animals
are among the most contaminated marine mammals in the
world. The bioaccumulation data has been interpreted in
light of 3 decades of study on these populations to allow
for consideration of age, gender, habitat and trophic
level in rate of bioaccumulation. Concerns are also generated
regarding the impact of global sources of PCBs on the
killer whale populations of the northeastern Pacific.
The direct "audience" for these populations
of killer whales numbers in the tens of thousands of whale
watchers per year. The statistics from British Columbia's
premier killer whale watching company reflect that 50
percent of its annual audience of 10,000 is from overseas.
The indirect audience, drawn to media illuminating the
killer whales, is immeasurable.
Evidence of the "power of the killer whale"
is found in examples such as:
- The colossal emotional and financial investment made
in projects such as the reintroduction of A73, the lone
killer whale (somewhere in the area of $300,000 to $470,000
US), and the Keiko Project ($20 million US).
- The success of the American Cetacean Society's
"Whale Friendly Lawn" Campaign.
The latter example gives a clear example of how interest
in killer whales has led to changed attitudes and behaviours.
This marine educator's view: To share the
bioaccumulation data, of such a charismatic animal to
such a large audience, is to employ a very powerful tool
in effecting understanding of the need for global PCB
management.
In this work, information relating to Canada's inheritance
of PCBs will preface a review of research relating to
killer whales as indicators of PCB bioaccumulation. This
is to allow a full assessment of Canada's PCB reality
and an evaluation of the "educational message".
INHERITANCE of PCBs in Canada
Canada banned the use, import and manufacture of polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs) in 1977. Use has only since been permitted
in totally enclosed systems. PCBs were never manufactured
in Canada but, prior to the ban, an estimated 40,000 tonnes
of PCBs were imported into the country. In 1986, a report
by the Canadian Council of Resource and Environmental
Ministers reported "just over 24,000 tonnes can
be accounted for . . . most of the remaining 16,000 tonnes
of PCBs is assumed to have already been dispersed into
the environment in various fashions".
As of December 31st, 2001, the voluntary "National
Inventory of PCBs in Use and PCB Wastes in Storage in
Canada" reports 10,038 net tonnes of PCBs are still
in use and 106,070 gross tonnes are in storage across
2,006 waste storage sites. A concern is that the PCBs
still being used in closed systems are soon to reach the
end of their lifetime (30 years since 1977).
The main technology used for the disposal of PCBs is incineration
despite the presence of "home-grown" non-incineration
technologies such as GPCR, gas-phase chemical reduction
(ELI Ecologic International), and sodium reduction processes
(Powertech).
Canada was the first country to sign and ratify the United
Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) Stockholm Convention
on POPs. However, Canada is plagued with the need for
effective clean up. A National Implementation Plan has
not yet been delivered but Environment Canada has proposed
amendments to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act
(CEPA) in order to set 2008 as the deadline for phasing
out all PCBs. Note that, with regard to the Stockholm
Convention, Canada opted into article 25, paragraph 4,
which exempts a Party from being bound by the addition
of future POPs to the Convention.
Strong realities in dealing with PCBs in Canada are:
- a great land mass
- the cleanup of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line
sites
- further sources of PCBs concentrating in northern
latitudes as a result of global distillation
- its marine environment
Land Mass
With Canada being the world's second largest country
(9,984,670 km2), the cleanup of PCBs is complicated
due to stores being so widespread. There are many PCB
storage sites and long-range transport to incineration
sites is a great concern.
http://atlas.gc.ca/site/english/index.html
The DEW Line
The Distant Early Warning Line is a great environmental
blight to be dealt with in Canada. The DEW Line consisted
of 63 radar stations, roughly following the 66th parallel
across Alaska, Canada and Greenland. The stations were
created in light of the Cold War, to provide a warning
for Soviet bombers and missiles if heading for North America.
Beginning in 1952, forty-two sites were built in Canada.
By 1962, half the sites were decommissioned due to both
improved technology and relations with the Soviet Union.
At the time of building the stations, there was no governmental
concern regarding the use of PCBs and an estimated 30
tonnes of PCBs were used in the stations. PCBs were used
in radio equipment, electrical generators and paint. With
the DEW Line sites being abandoned, PCBs were left, potentially
to leak into the environment. The radar site at Resolution
Island, Nunavut, has been identified as having very high
levels of PCB contamination at up to 8,000 ppm.
Responsibility for cleanup has been a great issue since
the radar bases were built by Americans on Canadian soil.
In June 1996, a settlement was finally made with the US
to provide $100 million (US) over ten years . . . in the
form of military hardware. It has only been since July
1998 that there is agreement between Arctic and federal
Canadian governments regarding the cleanup. The Department
of National Defence and the Department of Indian and Northern
Affairs Canada (INAC) are each custodian to 21 sites.
Only 10 sites have been remediated (2002), leaving many
still contaminated with PCBs.
Dewline-www.taiga.net/issues/dev3.html
Global distillation
Furthermore, global distillation of POPs is of huge concern
in Canada, especially Canada's Arctic. Global distillation
is the hypothesis that explains how POPs undergo long-range
transport from warm to cold regions. Chemicals in the
environment appear to undergo multiple cycles of evaporation
and condensation; evaporating in warm areas, being carried
by wind and condensing in colder areas. POPs accumulate
in the cold north since evaporation rates are lower. Due
to the multiple cycles of evaporation and condensation,
the phenomenon has also been dubbed the "grasshopper
effect" of POPs.
This effect makes the Canadian Arctic a sink for global
sources of POPs - affecting all life. With PCBs
being fat-soluble (lipophilic) and persistent, they build
up in the tissues of animals. They do not kill directly
but, through bioaccumulation, suppress the immune and
reproductive systems, disrupt the functioning of hormones
and cause skeletal abnormalities.
Global distillation and the traditional diet of the Inuit
(e.g. seal blubber) compound the rate of bioaccumulation
in the Canadian Arctic. The milk of women in southern
Canada has been found to have worrying levels of PCBs
at 170 ppm. The milk of Inuit women in the Eastern Artic
has been found to contain shocking levels at 1,210 ppm.
This illuminates the need for Canada's urgency in
being a leader in the global control of PCBs.
Grasshopper effect - http://www.ec.gc.ca/air/fact_north_e.html
Marine Environment
With its enormous stretches of coastline (90, 908 km),
Canada has a great dependence on its marine environment.
Further alarm regarding global sources of PCBs is the
result of their being delivered to Canada via ocean currents
and, biologically, through long-range prey sources. The
further content of this work will highlight how it is
an "ambassador" from the Canadian marine environment,
the killer whale, that has become the indicator of PCB
bioaccumulation.
Ice fishing - http://www.itk.ca/english/itk/departments/enviro/ncp/index.htm
