Snow At Highest Elevations No Longer Pure

The toxic pollutants called PCBs have been found in snow on the Aconcagua Mountain, the highest mountain in the Americas. Here, an image of Aconcagua mountain. Credit: Mariordo Mario Roberto Duran Ortiz, Wikimedia Commons

From Live Science:

The pure white snow atop the Andes Mountains may not be so pure after all. Scientists have found traces of toxic pollutants called PCBs in snow samples taken from Aconcagua Mountain, the highest peak in the Americas.

While the overall PCB levels were quite low, the results show that these long-lasting contaminants, notorious for causing myriad health problems, can end up at altitudes as high as 20,340 feet (6,200 meters), making their way through the atmosphere to these remote areas.

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