The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program addresses levels of environmental chemicals in abiotic and biotic components of the Arctic ecosystem, temporal and spatial trends, the fate of pollutants in the environment, and their effects on the food chain and humans. One of the principal tasks of AMAP continues to be the assessment of implications and impacts of pollution on the health of Arctic residents, residents both indigenous and non-indigenous to the region. The third AMAP Human Health assessment seeks to update the 2002 AMAP Human Health assessment with the latest data and analysis rather than to provide
a new independent assessment. The report synthesizes the latest research results from circumpolar countries, building upon previous assessments of environmental chemicals and the variety of their impacts on the health of Arctic populations. Therefore, to benefit most from this work the reader should be familiar with previous assessments.