Health Canada is presently assessing human exposure of northern populations to emerging POPs such as brominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and perfluorooctane sulfonates (PFOS). This work involves the analysis of blood plasma composites from Nunavut and the Northwest Territories (collaboration and support from DIAND under NCP) and human milks from Nunavik (collaboration with INSPQ). The former blood work will be finished in the present fiscal year. The completed human milk analyses from Nunavik have shown a three fold increase of PBDEs in less than a decade. In addition to the PBDEs, hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCD) are one of the two other classes of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) widely used in industrialized society. This compound is lipid soluble, occurs in human samples from Europe and North America and is known to biomagnify in Great Lakes food webs. Current and past exposure to this emerging POP will be assessed from all regions of the Arctic by its isomeric determination in the archived sample extracts from the above two NCP studies. Data will be available in 2004-5 to allow an estimation of the potential of HBCD to impact on the health of northerners. The information will also be used to compare with new data being generated from southern cities in Canada. No new human sample collection will be required.