{"id":64441,"date":"2017-10-18T22:30:57","date_gmt":"2017-10-19T02:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=64441"},"modified":"2025-08-19T09:37:40","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T13:37:40","slug":"rocket-launch-inuit-food-security","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/rocket-launch-inuit-food-security\/","title":{"rendered":"Latest rocket launch renews concerns over Inuit food security"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Latest rocket launch renews concerns over Inuit food security\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

When the European Space Agency (ESA) launched a satellite into orbit Wednesday<\/a>, it did not inform Inuit groups that a rocket stage, possibly containing toxic fuel, would splash down into waters important for hunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The debris is expected to fall into open waters between Ellesmere Island and Greenland<\/a>. The North Water Polynya, Pikialasorsuaq in Inuktitut, is a stretch of open water that is home to narwhal, seal and walrus hunted by Inuit from both countries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Nunavut emergency management office says there should not be any harmful effects to communities, the environment or animals near the impact area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not, however, the first time Inuit have been surprised to learn of a rocket launch and its debris falling into the ocean \u2014 nor do the calls to stop these hydrazine-fueled launches appear to have had effect so far. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the wake of this latest announcement, Nunavut\u2019s Minister of Environment, Joe Savikataaq, proclaimed the territory is powerless to stop<\/a> these launches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happening once again<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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The ESA previously launched a satellite into orbit on Oct. 13, 2017, despite opposition from Inuit leaders<\/a> in Canada and Greenland over its potential to contaminate the important Arctic area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most, but not all, of the rocket\u2019s highly toxic fuel is burned during launch. So, when the second stage of the rocket detached and fell back to Earth in October, it may have contained up to a tonne of unburned hydrazine<\/a> fuel that was \u201cdeliberately deposited<\/a>\u201d into the North Water Polynya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In November 2017, the ESA claimed they hadn\u2019t been provided any evidence of toxic pollution.<\/a>. However, both Savikataaq and Okalik Eegeesiak, chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council<\/a> and International Commissioner of the Pikialasorsuaq Commission<\/a>, suggest that the launches should be stopped until research proves they\u2019re safe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The polynya is a critical habitat for Arctic species, and is one of the Arctic\u2019s most biologically productive areas. It is also considered to be an important part of the food supply<\/a> for the Inuit communities who fish and hunt there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to the October launch, the former Prime Minister of Greenland, Kuupik Kleist, called the deposit of potentially dangerous rocket fuel into the Pikialasorsuaq \u201cunacceptable<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the latest launch, Eegeesiak said that she is \u201cvery concerned and frustrated that this is happening once again.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Space junk and food security<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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According to a study<\/a> published in October, at least 10 similar launches have discarded rocket stages in Pikialasorsuaq or in the Barents Sea, off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia, since 2002. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Article 29 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples<\/a> asserts that states must ensure hazardous materials are not disposed in Indigenous territories without their consent. However, the latest launch \u2014 like the others before it \u2014 involved no prior consultation with Inuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Inuit, the rocket launch transcends geopolitics. It strains their ongoing concerns over food safety and food security. It also raises tensions over the rights of Indigenous peoples in contemporary Canada, including their right to food<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Nunavut, food security remains a serious public health issue. More than two-thirds of Inuit households<\/a> lack reliable access to enough affordable, nutritious food. Climate change, environmental contaminants, high food prices and low income all
\naffect food security<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The average cost of healthy foods<\/a> in Nunavut is considerably more than the average in Canada, including chicken ($13.54 vs. $7.17 per kilogram), apples ($6.70 vs. $3.85 per kilogram) and carrots ($5.93 vs. $2.03 per kilogram). Meanwhile, employment income in small Nunavut communities such as Arctic Bay is less than half the median income of $32,800 that is the norm across Canada. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What if something goes wrong?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hydrazine is an extremely toxic<\/a> chemical now rarely used by space programs due to its immediate dangers. Researchers know little about how humans may be affected by long-term exposure to hydrazine, nor have they studied its behaviour in Arctic marine environments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hydrazine fueled the most recent satellite launch in Russia. The ESA has said it is working on switching to environmentally friendly propellants<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past, it has denied the rocket stage presents any threat to the Arctic environment and Global Affairs Canada deemed risks to the marine environment as \u201cvery low<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet Micheal Byers, Canada research chair in global politics and international law at the University of British Columbia, has highlighted that no information currently exists on how much unused hydrazine actually hits the water<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Latest
\n The Sentinel-5P satellite was launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia on Oct. 13, 2017, on a rocket using highly toxic hydrazine fuel. (ESA\/Stephane Corvaja)<\/span><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In theory, debris from rockets will burn up on re-entry into the Earth\u2019s atmosphere and never reach the surface. But what if something goes wrong? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Government of Nunavut has said the likelihood of fuel reaching the Earth remains low. But there should be no risk at all. The Inuit Circumpolar Council has demanded<\/a> that space agencies use less toxic alternatives<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When governments evaluate risk, they must evaluate the probability of an event and its potential consequences. History shows they could do better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Nunavut Justice Susan Cooper struck down the Eastern Canadian Arctic Seismic Experiment<\/a> in August 2010, she acknowledged these consequences<\/a>. Inuit communities feared irreparable harm<\/a> to the animals vital to their food system if the experiment went ahead. In her decision<\/a>, Justice Cooper wrote that while only the \u201cpotential for harm<\/a>\u201d was established by the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, such potential was sufficient to grant an injunction due to the degree of harm<\/em>, which equated to a \u201closs of culture\u2026 no amount of money\u201d could compensate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Inuit have repeatedly pointed out, any risk associated with the Arctic environment may have an impact on their food security, nutrition and health, as well as on their livelihood and culture. To what extent have the potential harms to Inuit food systems been taken into account when governments evaluate the risks associated with falling rocket debris or other industrial activities?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018This is our home\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though much of the Arctic is far removed from the world\u2019s industrial centres, global pollution is having a profound effect<\/a> on the North. Contaminants can travel long distances along ocean currents, rivers and streams, and in the atmosphere, reaching high levels in Arctic ecosystems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inuit generally prefer to eat food obtained through fishing, hunting and gathering, collectively called country foods. It is mostly through these country foods that they are exposed to environmental contaminants such as persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals such as mercury. Studies show that Inuit living in Nunavut have higher levels of contaminants in their blood<\/a> than the general Canadian population. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contaminants are among many contemporary pressures on Inuit food systems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In July 2017, the Nunavut hamlet of Clyde River won a bid against the National Energy Board (NEB)<\/a> in the Supreme Court of Canada<\/a> to halt a seismic survey in Baffin Bay<\/a>. The hamlet\u2019s lawyer argued<\/a> that the potential impacts of the seismic survey on food security, which had been dismissed by industry representatives<\/a> and the NEB<\/a> as minimal, were a central concern. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHunting and gathering, this is how we live. This is our humanity,\u201d said Jerry Natanine<\/a>, the former mayor of Clyde River. These mounting pressures on marine ecosystems highlight how country foods are an existential matter for Inuit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inuit food systems can no longer simply be an afterthought to international sovereignty disputes and risk assessment. Indigenous Peoples in Canada and globally have drawn attention to the false imagination<\/a> of their homes, lands and waters as a terra nullius<\/a><\/em> \u2013 an empty no-man\u2019s land. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Eegeesiak has said<\/a> of previous launches: \u201cThis rocket will not be falling into no-man\u2019s land\u2026 This is our home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Carleton University is a member of this unique digital journalism platform that launched in June 2017 to boost visibility of Canada\u2019s academic faculty and researchers. Interested in writing a piece? Please contact Steven Reid<\/a> or sign up to become an author<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All photos provided by The Conversation from various sources.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

—
\nCarleton Newsroom<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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When the European Space Agency (ESA) launched a satellite into orbit Wednesday, it did not inform Inuit groups that a rocket stage, possibly containing toxic fuel, would splash down into waters important for hunting. The debris is expected to fall into open waters between Ellesmere Island and Greenland. The North Water Polynya, Pikialasorsuaq in Inuktitut, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":64471,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[1623],"cu_story_tag":[],"class_list":["post-64441","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cu_story_type-expert-perspectives"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":"blueprint"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/64441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/410"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/64441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64529,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/64441\/revisions\/64529"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=64441"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=64441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}