Having recently returned from Svalbard with images of polar bears fresh in the memory it is disconcerting to be confronted with a realisation that what appears to be a pristine arctic wilderness is in fact a reservoir for a host of pollutants that is gradually turning this remote part of our planet into a toxic dump. Persistent organic pesticides (POPs) and other pollutants are been ferried along at an alarming rate by the gulf stream and are now evident in most arctic life forms, accumulating in ever higher doses up the food chain with long term implications for mammalian species such as seals, walrus and polar bears. To add to this chemical cocktail, scientists have reported that carbon dioxide emissions are turning arctic waters acidic at an unprecedented rate. Research predicts that arctic seawater will be corrosive within 10 years, capable of dissolving the protective shells of shellfish. Many mollusc species will be vulnerable and this will have a major impact on the entire marine food chain. Daniel Conley, of Lund University, Sweden, speaking at an international oceanography conference said that, "increasing acidity levels, sea-level rises and temperature changes now threatened to bring about irreversible loss of biodiversity in the sea."