Reno Reporter

The University of Nevada, Reno’s College of Engineering is examining whether there are lingering toxic substances from a multitude of dormant military sites in Alaska.

According to a news release shared by the university, abandoned defense sites are releasing ongoing organic pollutants that are damaging the Arctic region.

“We are going to look for exactly what’s left over there and see how these chemicals are transported through the environment in response to climate change,” Frank Yang, project lead and environmental engineering professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, said in the release. “When the sites are warming up, more toxicants can be released into the environment. We will find and quantify impacts on the food web and outline possible steps for mitigation.”

As the climate warms, dangerous chemicals that have been immobilized in arctic soils may become more mobile and enter the food chain potentially posing a greater risk to human health from exposure. 

“The big question is where to hunt and fish for best practice to protect their health," Yang said. "There has been concern with the safety of subsistence foods collected near the military sites. It’s been an issue for a while."

Yang said that people of the arctic communities need to know where it's safe to harvest food and where a danger exists. 

A $1.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation has helped researchers collaborate with the Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska and the City of Unalaska in efforts to get to the root of the problem specifically on Unalaska Island.

“It might be low concentrations entering the environment, which can be accumulated and concentrated in animal tissues," Yang said. "At some locations, toxicants are found in fish and shellfish, important food sources for coastal Alaskan communities. Ultimately, we want to determine which sites are polluted and how they can be mitigated.”