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Home → * News and Stories → PCB-con­cen­tra­ti­ons in polar bears on the decre­a­se

PCB-con­cen­tra­ti­ons in polar bears on the decre­a­se

Posted on 3. April 2012 by Rolf Stange

Hard to belie­ve, but the­re are good news for polar bears: bio­lo­gists from the uni­ver­si­ty of Trond­heim (Nor­way) have done rese­arch on tis­sue sam­ples collec­ted from fema­le polar bears. Their results show that poly­chlora­ted biphe­nyls (PCB) have drop­ped signi­fi­cant­ly bet­ween 1998 and 2008. The values for young bears are 59 % lower and tho­se of adult fema­les have decre­a­sed by 55 %. The actu­al con­cen­tra­ti­ons are still well capa­ble of doing harm to a bear’s repro­duc­ti­ve and immu­ne sys­tem, but the trend is without doubt good news.

PCBs have been used world­wi­de for mul­ti­ple tech­ni­cal pro­ces­ses, inclu­ding coo­ling agents and electric parts. Sin­ce 2004, the­re is a ban on PCB pro­duc­tion wit­hin the Stock­holm con­ven­ti­on sys­tem that has been signed by most major coun­tries, with a few excep­ti­ons, noti­ce­ab­ly the USA.

Small polar bear fami­ly in sum­mer drift ice north of Spits­ber­gen.

PCB-concentrations in polar bears on the decrease - Polar bears

Source: Uni­ver­si­tät Trond­heim

By the way, my new book is in print and it can now be orde­red 🙂 it is a pho­to book with the tit­le “Nor­we­gens ark­ti­scher Nor­den (3): Die Bären­in­sel und Jan May­en”, with Ger­man text Click here for fur­ther details!

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BOOKS, CALENDAR, POSTCARDS AND MORE

This and other publishing products of the Spitsbergen publishing house in the Spitsbergen-Shop.

  • Norwegens arktischer Norden (1): Spitzbergen

    Photobook: Norway's arctic islands. The text in this book is German. [shop url="https://shop.spitzbergen.de/en/polar-books/70-norwegens-arktischer-norden-1-aerial-arctic-9783937903262.html"] ← Back
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  • Norwegens arktischer Norden (2): Aerial Arctic

    Lofoten, Jan Mayen and Spitsbergen from the air - Photobook: Norway's arctic islands. The text in this book is German, but there is very little text, so I am sure that you will enjoy it regardless which languages you read (or not).
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  • Poster “Svalbardhytter”

    The poster "Svalbardhytter" (70 x 100 cm) visualizes the diversity of Spitsbergen's huts in a range of arctic landscapes.
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  • Book “Svalbardhytter”

    The companion book for the Svalbardhytter poster. The poster visualises the diversity of Spitsbergen‘s huts and their stories in a range of Arctic landscapes. The book tells the stories of the huts in three languages.
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  • Spitsbergen – Svalbard. The complete guidebook

    Comprehensive guidebook about Spitsbergen. Background (wildlife, plants, geology, history etc.), practical information including travelling seasons, how to travel, description of settlements, routes and regions.
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  • Rocks and Ice. Landscapes of the North

    A geographical traveling accompaniment to Spitsbergen and East Greenland (68-74°N). This is the English edition of the German book "Steine und Eis".
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  • East Greenland in Winter

    Join an exciting journey with dog, skis and tent through the wintery wastes of East Greenland! We were five guys and a dog when we started in Ittoqqortoormiit, the northernmost one of two settlements on Greenland’s east coast.
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  • Postcard set Spitsbergen (Svalbard)

    12 Spitsbergen postcards in a beautifully designed tray. Individually numbered limited edition!
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  • Limited edition postcard set Antarctica

    12 postcards which come in a beautifully designed tray. Beautiful images from South Georgia across Antarctica from the Antarctic Peninsula to the Ross Sea and up to Macquarie Island and Campbell Island.
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last modification: 2014-07-01 · copyright: Rolf Stange
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