Inuit org: We’re not a dumping ground for space-borne waste Falling rocket stage likely to contain hydrazine, a hazardous toxic fuel

JIM BELL Around the Arctic June 03, 2016 - 1:20 pm

A highly toxic piece of Russian space junk that’s set to fall June 4 into Baffin Bay between Ellesmere Island and Greenland poses a danger to Inuit and to Arctic wildlife, the Inuit Circumpolar Council said June 2. “This rocket will not be falling into no-man’s land. This is a vital body of water that is integral to the food supply of Inuit communities in Greenland and Canada,” Okalik Eegeesiak, ICC’s international chair said in the statement. “Inuit live here, Inuit use the animals in these waters to feed our families. This is our home,” Eegeesiak said. Nunavut’s minister of Community and Government Services, Joe Savikataaq used a member’s statement in the legislature June 2 to reassure Nunavummiut that the federal government is monitoring the situation and would deal with any space junk that ended up on land or on sea ice. He said it’s expected to fall into the ocean about 158 km from Grise Fiord. (more)