The "Dirty Dozen" refers to twelve persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that are harmful to human health and the environment. They include chemicals such as DDT, PCBs, and dioxins. POPs can travel long distances in the atmosphere and accumulate in the food chain, and some are known to cause cancer, reproductive problems, and developmental disorders.

Climate warming can affect the fate and transport of POPs in a number of ways.

- For example, warming can increase the volatilization of POPs from soil and water, leading to their release into the atmosphere.

- Warming can also increase the rate of chemical reactions that degrade POPs, but it can also slow down these reactions, depending on the specific POP and environmental conditions.

- Warming can also change the distribution of POPs by altering the distribution of vegetation.

Overall, warmer temperatures lead to more rapid melting of contaminated areas that are usually frozen (such as the ice caps and glaciers as mentioned), leading to larger areas becoming available for contaminants to be absorbed or eaten through drinking water and ingestion from marine fish, etc and therefore, the Dirty Dozen is back out in full force