Led by ecologist Fredrik Gröndahl of Stockholm Royal Institute of Technology, researchers carried out a survey of 71 scientific stations across Antarctica run by 28 different countries – including the UK, USA, France and Australia – and found that 15 used no treatment at all, and one pumped raw sewage directly into the sea. 

‘When waste water and grey water containing microorganisms are released, these microorganisms can remain viable in low-temperature Antarctic conditions for prolonged periods,’ the scientists wrote in a paper published in Polar Research. ‘Microorganisms may also have the potential to infect and cause disease, or become part of the gut flora of local bird and mammal populations, and fish and marine invertebrates.’

The report calls for the countries running the more than 80 research stations in Antarctica to implement efficient technology at all permanent research stations, in order to reduce the impact of human-derived microbial agents on the Antarctic environment.

Legally, releasing untreated waste water is allowed if there are no more than 30 people at a particular station.

November 2009