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Human Exposure to Pollutants and Their Health Endpoints: The Arctic Perspective

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Environmental Determinants of Human Health

Part of the book series: Molecular and Integrative Toxicology ((MOLECUL))

Abstract

Studies of longitudinal design are ongoing in all Arctic countries, as well as many countries in the southern hemisphere. For both ethical and scientific reasons many studies have a cohort design, with a long term follow up of mothers and their respective children.

The most vulnerable period in a human life is before you are born and in early childhood. A number of reports and publications are now coming out of these studies and this chapter will go into details of some of the most important studies and their defined health endpoints. Different epidemiological studies in the circumpolar area have shown associations between contaminants and different health outcomes. It is important to note that associations are not the same as causal relationships between exposure to a single substance (or a mix of substances) and an effect. When finding an association between a contaminant and an effect it is important to bear in mind the possibility that the studied substance are proxies for other substances in the mixture of contaminants to which the study population has been exposed—both harmful and beneficial. The effects reported are findings from different circumpolar communities. However, due to differences in genetic composition, socio-cultural practices, local food consumption patterns and exposure mixtures, a finding in one population should not be extrapolated to another population without careful investigation and comparative information.

Health outcomes to be discussed in the chapter from the different studies are: neurotoxic effects, immunotoxic effects, reproductive effects, cardiovascular effects, endocrine effects, and carcinogenic effects. Genetical and epigenetical aspects are also briefly discussed.

Risk assessment of the effects of environmental pollutants is an essential tool in the overall health protection of Arctic residents. Different methods are available. One of the biggest challenges is how to translate contaminant concentrations measured in blood into information useful for risk characterization (the likelihood that specific effects will occur at these concentrations). The next challenge is to communicate this risk into policy making for populations and information to the individuals for preventive reasons. The Precautionary principle should be the basis for all approaches to the acquired knowledge, as well as providing good arguments for reduction of exposures to humans. Climate change and future change of exposure will further complicate the assessment, providing a good rationale to continue monitoring and assessment of the exposure and related health effects. Risks and benefits of breast feeding are not discussed in this chapter. A recent Norwegian report on risks and benefits of breast feeding concluded strongly that breast feeding is healthy and beneficial for both mother and child, and the nutritional value of the milk is far more important than the impact of documented levels of contaminants in the milk (www.vkm.no 2014).

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Aknowledgments

All coauthors of the AMAP Human Health Assessment Report 2015 are to be heartly acknowledged, especially the co-editors Anders Carlsen and Alexey Dudarev, as well as the chapter leads Jennifer Gibson, Pal Weihe, Arja Rautio, Eva Kruemmel, Jim Berner, and Bryan Adlard. All studies mentioned are hopefully properly cited. Possible mistakes are, however, the authors’ responsibility.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, The Arctic University of Norway, 9037, Tromsø, Norway

    Jon Øyvind Odland

  2. Population Studies Division, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Health Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Shawn Donaldson

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  1. Jon Øyvind Odland
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  2. Shawn Donaldson
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Correspondence to Jon Øyvind Odland .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Norwegian Institute for Air Research, Kjeller, Norway

    Jozef M. Pacyna

  2. Norwegian Institute for Air Research, Kjeller, Norway

    Elisabeth G. Pacyna

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Odland, J.Ø., Donaldson, S. (2016). Human Exposure to Pollutants and Their Health Endpoints: The Arctic Perspective. In: Pacyna, J., Pacyna, E. (eds) Environmental Determinants of Human Health. Molecular and Integrative Toxicology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43142-0_3

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