Chemicals Gone Wild: Animal Bodies Burdened by Toxins, Too

To our great and lasting satisfaction, recent months have seen a hopeful upswing in mainstream media attention being paid to the idea of body burdens, the ongoing accumulating chemical contamination of our bodies as a result of exposure to toxins in our food, air, water, and soil. But lost in the hoopla about such hazards is the fact that human bodies aren’t the only ones under assault. Wildlife is being exposed as well, and a new report from the WWF highlights the widespread extent of the problem.

According to the World Wildlife Fund report, Causes for Concern: Chemicals and Wildlife, a range of toxic materials are now contaminating the bodies of a diverse number of different animal species throughout the world. Just as chemicals in the environment are able to easily enter human beings and accumulate in their fatty tissues and other places, they are able to do so in wildlife as well. In fact, when it comes to the build-up of synthetic toxins in bodily tissues, the evidence confirms that chemicals aren’t discriminating between humans and animals. Indeed, the report details instances of contamination among marine mammals, birds, reptiles, and other creatures which is very similar to the contamination now being seen in people.

Rather than focus on older substances like DDT and PCBs, materials with well-known histories, the new report concentrates on more recent additions to the chemical canon and the emerging hazards these newer compounds represent. Like many other toxins before them, these substances are becoming ubiquitous in both consumer products and the environment. They include perfluorinated compounds like those used in food packaging and non-stick cookware; brominated flame retardants found in everything from furniture to electronics; phthalates, which are found in PVC and soft, flexible plastics; and phenolic compounds like bisphenol-A from things like food cans, plastic bottles, and computer shells.

The report documents countless instances in which these and other relatively new chemicals have been found in wildlife tissues samples. Bisphenol-A, for example has been discovered in the broad-snouted caiman, a South American relative of the alligator. Perfluorinated compounds have been identified in dolphins, whales and cormorants in the Mediterranean, seals and eagles in Europe’s Baltic region, and polar bears. Brominated flame retardants have been discovered in sperm whales, arctic seals, peregrine falcon eggs, and in many other creatures as well.

The WWF report makes it clear that such contamination is becoming widespread in the general environment and that the pollutants causing it are easily able to reach creatures and ecosystems found hundreds and even thousands of miles away from the nearest potential source. Equally alarming is the fact that wildlife exposure to toxins is increasing over time. According to WWF researchers, who examined a wealth of current scientific studies to produce their findings, marine mammals tested in the 1960s were found to contain 5 organochlorine pollutants and mercury in their tissues. Today some 265 organic chemical contaminants and 50 inorganic pollutants can be found in those same species.

While further study is needed to ascertain the precise health effects of exposure to these chemicals in individual species, existing evidence indicates that the results are likely to be similar to those experienced by human beings. These outcomes include cancer, immune system damage, behavioral changes, hormonal disruption, and reproductive and developmental disorders.

As proof of the dangers such pollution represents, the report also details instances of contemporary wildlife contamination from chemicals that have been banned for many years. The authors note that the fact that older compounds long since removed from production continue to cause trouble, and this demonstrates just how problematic persistent chemicals can be once they’re let loose in the environment. They also serve as a strong precautionary lesson in why it’s important to prevent generations of new and future chemicals from gaining a similar foothold in ecosystems throughout the world.

To that end, the WWF report calls for support and further strengthening of the European Union’s REACH initiative, which would require chemical makers and users to provide health and safety information on the roughly 30,000 industrial chemicals annually sold in Europe in amounts exceeding 2,000 lbs. The report also calls for a universal adoption of the Precautionary Principle, a regulatory approach to chemicals that would permit production of only those compounds that have been proven to cause no harm to people or the environment when used. In the words of one WWF spokesperson, "We know that the global production of chemicals is increasing, and at the same time we have warning signals that a variety of troubling threats to wildlife and human health are becoming more prevalent. It is reckless to suggest there is no link between the two, and give chemicals the benefit of the doubt."

To read the full WWF report, visit http://www.worldwildlife.org/toxics/pubres/causesforconcern.pdf

 

This article was published in The Non-Toxic Times, March 2004