Whale of a problem

In the 1970s, governments banned pesticides known as polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs--among the top few deadliest poisons on the planet--but if you think that means they don'! still pose a risk, read on.

Female beluga whales in the St. Lawrence estuary are known to carry up to 10 parts per million (ppm) of PCBs in the fat contained in their nursing milk. (Anything containing more than 2 ppm of PCBs is considered unsuitable for human consumption.)

And US authorities have warned against eating too many fish such as tuna--because marine foods still hold PCBs.

Bottom line? PCBs simply don't break down in the environment. They attach themselves to sediments and sea life, working their way up the food chain to large fish, whales--and humans.

Today, among the Inuit--native to northwest Greenland and Canada's extreme north--even newborns have higher concentrations than the allowable daily intake for adults. Most Inuit PCB exposure comes from eating Narwhal and seal.

PCBs attack the immune system. For example, one in four Canadian Inuit children has chronic hearing loss due to infections.

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