We used to think that the Arctic was “pure,” and far from the chemicals and toxins being speed further South. But now we know that pollution goes everywhere, and is harmful to the circumpolar regions. “Circumpollutionarity” is “circumpolar” plus “pollution”—the pollution of circumpolar lands and waters.
Fragment of bubble wrap found on the remote shores of Beechey Island in the Canadian Arctic. Nunavut, Canada, 2024
Photography By Pamela EA
RESEARCH
Text by Melissa Burrell
Research by Micheala Chan
Fact-checking by Hailey Basiouny
November 7, 2024
• Historically perceived as pristine, these regions, particularly the Arctic, are
now recognized as highly vulnerable to pollution transported from distant industrialized regions, contributing to the climate crisis and environmental degradation. Circumpollutionarity encompasses this relationship, highlighting the vulnerability of the
Arctic to global pollution and emphasizing the need for increased political and social commitment to protect circumpolar regions.34
• Due to the unique environmental conditions of the Arctic, pointedly the low temperatures and a very slow rate of decomposition, contaminants accumulate and persist in the environment far longer than in more temperate regions.35
• The concept of circumpollutionarity ultimately draws attention to the global nature of pollution and its disproportionate impacts on the polar regions. Despite the Arctic’s geographic isolation, it serves as a storage place for the world's pollutants. With contaminants accumulating in the waters, ice, and ecosystems, both local wildlife and Indigenous communities are severely affected.36
