Researchers warn of permafrost toxins

According to experts, the risk of large-scale environmental damage is increasing sharply due to the thawing of permafrost under industrial installations in the Arctic. In the Arctic regions, toxic waste has been dumped in small dumps in or on the previously permanently frozen ground for decades, the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) said in Bremerhaven on Tuesday, referring to its own research. With the thawing of the permafrost as part of climate change, the ‘barrier effect’ disappears.

“The pollutants that have accumulated in the Arctic for decades may begin to move and spread over larger regions,” the institute warned. The spectrum of substances varies from diesel fuel to highly hazardous heavy metals and radioactive waste. In the Arctic, there are a large number of decommissioned and active oil and gas production facilities, as well as mines and military installations.

According to the AWI experts, these include local toxic sludge dumps, lakes full of accumulated industrial wastewater, or debris from mining operations. Complex disposal was often avoided in the belief that the frozen ground would hold the waste permanently.

According to a study by AWI experts now published in the journal “Nature Communications,” there are at least 13,000 to 20,000 contaminated areas in the Arctic around about 4,500 industrial settlements, of which there will be a greater risk in the future due to up to thawing the permafrost could run out. Some 3,500 to 5,200 of these are even located in regions where the smelting process will start before the end of this century.

According to the scientists, this is only a rough guideline, as a more detailed overview is lacking due to the lack of extensive data. “The real problem could be even bigger,” explains AWI expert Moritz Langer. The researchers argue for long-term strategies.

According to the study, which is based on computer model projections, the situation in Siberia is particularly unclear because, unlike Canada and the US state of Alaska, there are no databases on contaminated areas in Russia. There is “rather scarce information” from Russia, for example from press releases.

According to the AWI, the situation will worsen in the future due to increasing economic activities in the warming Arctic. As a result, more and more industrial installations could leak toxic substances, the institute explains. Landfills are not the only danger. Sagging, thawing permafrost also destabilizes pipelines and storage tanks. (afp/t online)