45 



Radioactive and other Environmental Threats to the 

 United States and the Arctic 

 Resulting from Past Soviet Activities 



Field Hearing Conducted by the 



Select Committee on Intelligence 



United States Senate 



University of Alaska, Fairbanks 

 August IS, 1992 



Statement of the Government of Canada 

 CZRCUMFOLAR ARCTIC ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 



Over the past few years, Canada has shared in the 

 growing appreciation of the importance of the Arctic ecosystem 

 and its vulnerability to global sources of pollution. This 

 subject is of great concern to the Government of Canada. We 

 welcome this opportunity to share our views. 



Threats to the integrity of the Arctic ecosystem arise 

 from a number of sources, including anthropogenic radioactivity 

 (1) . Many are hemispheric in origin and can only be resolved 

 through international cooperation. The eight Arctic countries — 

 Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the 

 United States — have recognised their responsibility as joint 

 custodians of the Arctic environment and in 1989 embarked on the 

 Finnish Initiative, a common strategy to address the threats. 



Contaminants in Northern Canadian Ecosystems 



Canada's initial involvement in the Finnish Initiative 

 followed a period of focused attention on emerging problems 

 relating to Arctic environmental pollution, beginning in 1985 with 

 the establishment of an inter-agency Working Group on Contaminants 

 in Northern Ecosystems and Native Diets. A baseline literature 

 review commissioned by the Working Group underscored the need for 

 a comprehensive assessment of wildlife contamination in northern 

 Canada (2) . In response, the Working Group undertook a 

 co-operative program of studies based on an integrated ecosystem 

 approach. The program of studies linked atmospheric, 

 oceanographic and limnological transportation processes and ' 

 pathways with biotic accumulation, human dietary patterns and 

 possible health implications. Scientists and indigenous peoples 

 worked together to design and conduct the project, the first 

 comprehensive review of which took place at an international 

 workshop in Ottawa in February, 1989 (3). 



. . ./2 



