THOUSANDS of tonnes of mercury have polluted the world鈥檚 atmosphere, reaching remote regions such as the Arctic and altitudes of over 7 kilometres.
Research flights organised by Cathy Banic of the Meteorological Service of Canada have tracked the airborne mercury across the Canadian north. She estimates the atmosphere contains more than 2500 tonnes of the toxic element (Journal of Geophysical Research, DOI: 10.1029/2002JD002116).
Lower concentrations in the lower atmosphere suggest that mercury gets caught up in clouds, and then falls to earth in rain, where it turns up in Arctic whale and seal meat. The findings come days after the US Public Interest Research Group reported that mercury poisoning of fish in the country鈥檚 rivers had become 鈥渁 serious risk to health鈥�. It too blamed fallout from the air.
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