Seal pups still at risk from toxic chemicals
SEAL PUPS on the UK’s coastline are at risk from toxic chemicals present in their mothers’ milk, research has found.
The contamination comes from man-made waste draining into the sea and causes changes to how seal pups gain the fatty blubber they need to survive. Scientists are now warning the dangerous toxins could lead to extinction.
A ban designed to stop the damage – from sources such as paint, pesticides, electrical transformers and lubricants – is not working, according to the study led by Abertay University in Dundee. The research, in partnership with the Sea Mammal Research Unit at the University of St Andrews and Belgian academics, has now shown the ban introduced in the early 2000s may not go far enough to protect wildlife.
Researchers found that even low levels of the fat-altering chemicals known as PCBs (Polychlorinated Biphenyls) and DDT (Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) in the sea are putting the lives of pups at risk. The study, on the Isle of May in the Firth of Forth, focused on grey seal pups in their first weeks of life.
Principal investigator, Dr Kimberley Bennett of Abertay University, warned the chemicals have become locked in the ecosystem, with mother seals accumulating them from fish and passing on the effects to their young through milk.
Although the so-called “dirty dozen” chemicals are banned from being released into UK waters, they are still finding their way into the sea through sewage and landfill.