Endocrine disrupting compounds in the Antarctic: How man-made chemicals could put the continent’s future at risk

Time and again is the Antarctic labeled as the 'untouched and pristine corner of the globe'. What recent discoveries have shown is that the region is in fact threatened by human activity at several levels. This report deals with the most invisible level: that of chemical messengers. Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC's) found in the Antarctic ice, snow, water and air suggest that the synthetic chemicals must affect the wildlife. Research in North America and Europe has revealed that EDCs interfere with the processes of reproduction in many fish, bird and mammal species, by disrupting the natural hormonal functions in their bodies. Such activity is likely to be occurring in the Antarctic, as chemicals known for their endocrine disrupting propenies have been detected in the remote Polar Regions. This report explains how EDC's influence the ecosystem and hypothetically establishes the effects of such substances on the Antarctic ecosystem. 'Ille main conclusion drawn from this investigation is that there is a need for a detailed study on the existence and impacts of EDC's in the Antarctic in Older to prevent a serious conservation issue from occumng. Time and again is the Antarctic labeled as the 'untouched and pristine corner of the globe'. What recent discoveries have shown is that the region is in fact threatened by human activity at several levels. This report deals with the most invisible level: that of chemical messengers. Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC's) found in the Antarctic ice, snow, water and air suggest that the synthetic chemicals must affect the wildlife. Research in North America and Europe has revealed that EDCs interfere with the processes of reproduction in many fish, bird and mammal species, by disrupting the natural hormonal functions in their bodies. Such activity is likely to be occurring in the Antarctic, as chemicals known for their endocrine disrupting propenies have been detected in the remote Polar Regions. This report explains how EDC's influence the ecosystem and hypothetically establishes the effects of such substances on the Antarctic ecosystem. 'Ille main conclusion drawn from this investigation is that there is a need for a detailed study on the existence and impacts of EDC's in the Antarctic in Older to prevent a serious conservation issue from occumng