Special to The Japan Times Recently, concern has been expressed in Japan about the contaminants found in whales and other marine mammals. It has been reported that contaminant levels are dangerously high and the government should take steps to reduce the risk to consumers' health. It may be helpful to consider the experiences in another country where contaminated whale products are also being eaten.
In northern Canada (as well as in Alaska and Greenland), many people living in coastal communities eat large quantities of marine-mammal meat and fat. The Arctic environment contains all the known pollutants occurring in industrial and agricultural regions of the world, as well as having high, but naturally occurring, background levels of such toxic heavy metals as mercury and cadmium. To make matters worse, Arctic animals' bodies contain large deposits of fat, which is where many of the contaminants accumulate. Northern peoples have a dietary preference and a nutritional need for fat, and so the fat of whales and seals is consumed almost daily. In addition, Arctic animals are long lived, which results in high levels of contaminants being accumulated in their bodies over many years of intake.
When the high levels of environmental contamination became known in Canada through reports similar to those appearing in Japan, understandable concern was expressed by the public. It was widely reported that these contaminants included DDT, dieldrin, chlordane, PCBs, and lead and cadmium-substances believed to cause health problems among people and wildlife.