While Groenland attracts international geopolitical interest, particularly after Donald Trump’s expressed desire to control the country, the social reality of the Inuit remains largely eclipsed by prospouits to exploit natural resources. The Greenland society finds Iself in the first line of unprecedented permafrost defrost, a layer of frozen soil that covers a quarter of the land of the northern hemisphere, which gradually releases long -standing toxic substances. Double victims, these populations face the direct consequences of climate change while dating back to the margin of decisions taken by Denmark with respect to their territory, since Greenland still depends largely on Danish financing.
Among the toxic substances released by permafrost’s thaw, methylmercury particularly worries scientists. This organic form of mercury, the most widespread in aquatic environments, accumulates in living organisms, from smaller insects to predatory fish, creating a bioaccumulation effect throughout the food chain. The consequences for humans can be serious. The methylmercury attacks the nervous system and is particularly harmful to fetuses and young children, whose neurological development can be irreversible committed. These risks have led the World Health Organization to list this substance among the 10 most related pollutants for public health.
At the beginning of 2024, photographer Juliette Pavy immersed himself in the Inuit communities to document the contamination of the methylmercury pollution in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. “A study by Toxicologist Brian D. Laird in almost 36 communities in Canada showed that seals are the main source of exposure to mercury for Arctic peoples,” he said, “representing almost 59% of pollution.” She shares the testimony of a Nunavut hunter with: “Inuit do not eat the oldest seals. They leave them for dogs because they know badly due to accumulated mercury.”
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