Canada wants to stop the use of toxic pesticides in Latin America that can drift as far as the Arctic and contaminate the food chain.

The chemicals are banned in Canada but can travel from other countries because they don't break down in the environment.

The pesticides are just one topic on the agenda of the first meeting of health and environment ministers of the Americas.

Many Inuit people exceed the daily maximum intake of pesticides such as taxaphene and chlordane. Those two, along with DDT and others, belong to the "dirty dozen" chemicals, all of which are persistent organic pollutants (POPs).

The chemicals can travel through the atmosphere on wind currents, touch down in bodies of water and evaporate again until they reach the Arctic.

The POPs don't break down, so they can travel up the food chain and concentrate in the fat of animals. Inuit who eat these animals are then vulnerable to the contamination.

While no agreements are expected at the meeting, Environment Minister David Anderson said the topic of persistent pollutants will be raised.