Polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) consist of naphthalene substituted with 1-8 chlorines, yielding 75 possible congeners. They were formerly used in industry, occur at trace levels in commercial PCB mixtures, and have current sources in combustion processes. PCNs are widespread in arctic air with higher levels in the European Arctic. Concentrations were higher during the cold months in arctic Canada and Russia, but no seasonality was noted in subarctic Canada and Greenland. "Marker" congeners indicative of combustion were evident at some sites. Total toxic equivalents (TEQ) in air due to PCNs+dioxin-like PCBs were dominated by PCNs in arctic Canada and Russia, but not in subarctic Canada. Deposition of PCNs in snow was measured in northern Norway and Svalbard. Surveys of PCNs in the lower food web are limited to the northern Baltic Sea and lakes/rivers of northern Scandinavia. PCNs showed little or no biomagnification in lower food webs of the northern Baltic and discrimination among congeners suggested preferential metabolism. There are no reports of PCNs in fish and invertebrates from the Arctic Ocean, and only one from Antarctica. Total PCNs in marine mammals followed the order: harbour seal~pilot whale>or=polarbear>beluga>ringed seal~Weddell seal. Total PCNs in seabirds varied over 100-fold, with higher concentrations in glaucous gull eggs and plasma from Bear Island, and livers of northern fulmar from the eastern Canadian Arctic. Lower concentrations occurred in eggs of glaucous gull from Svalbard and black-backed gull from the Faroe Islands. PCNs accounted for <1% of total TEQ in ringed seal, Weddell seal, seabirds and polar bear, but up to 6-15% in beluga and pilot whale. TEQ due to PCNs were generally low in harbour seal, but up to 9% of total TEQ in some animals.