Coal’s toxic legacy to the Arctic

Coal burning in western Europe and North America has been a prime source of heavy metal pollution in the Arctic.

Scientists plotted levels of thallium, cadmium and lead in a Greenland ice core and linked them to other chemicals indicating coal as the main origin.

Clean air legislation has reduced the heavy metal load in recent years.

But writing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the team says increased coal burning in Asia may see levels of the metals rise.

These substances accumulate in the bodies of plants and animals living in the region, including whales, polar bears and caribou.

BBC