{"id":34314,"date":"2023-10-24T09:25:30","date_gmt":"2023-10-24T07:25:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/animalsurvival.org\/?p=34314"},"modified":"2023-10-24T09:25:30","modified_gmt":"2023-10-24T07:25:30","slug":"flame-retardant-pollution-threatens-wildlife-on-all-continents-research-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/animalsurvival.org\/habitat-loss\/flame-retardant-pollution-threatens-wildlife-on-all-continents-research-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"Flame retardant pollution threatens wildlife on all continents, research finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Article written by Tom Perkins
\nOriginally published by The Guardian<\/a> (Wed, 18 Oct, 2023)<\/p>\n

More than 100 species, from frogs to killer whales, contaminated with long-lasting chemicals with serious health effects<\/h3>\n

More than a hundred species of wildlife found across every continent are contaminated with highly toxic flame retardants, and the pollution is probably responsible for population declines in some species, a new analysis of published research shows.<\/p>\n

The dangerous chemicals have been detected in everything from sea urchins to bobcats to Arctic foxes, and at alarming levels in endangered species such as red pandas, chimpanzees and killer whales.<\/p>\n

The analysis examined about 20 years of flame retardant research and includes an interactive map showing the location and type of animal found to be contaminated. It brings into sharp focus the breadth of flame retardant pollution and dangers it poses.<\/p>\n

The paper\u2019s lead author, Lydia Jahl, said she expected to find widespread contamination, but was \u201cstill blown away by the sheer number of studies finding harmful levels of all sorts of flame retardants everywhere\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s heartbreaking that human advancement doesn\u2019t take health impacts into account for ourselves and for wildlife,\u201d she said. \u201cThe people who pollute are not the most impacted \u2013 it\u2019s fenceline communities, turtles, dolphins, foxes and butterflies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several chemical classes are utilized as flame retardants and in an effort to help reduce fire risks are added to thousands of consumer products from furniture to electronics to auto interiors.<\/p>\n

The paper found high levels of phased-out flame retardants like PCBs and PBDEs, as well as allegedly safe, newer replacements chemicals, such as chlorinated paraffins and organophosphates, across the globe. All are thought to be toxic and various compounds are linked to liver, thyroid and kidney cancers, while others harm IQ, attention and memory in children.<\/p>\n

Many of the same health problems found in humans also affect animals, Jahl said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a really unfortunate side-effect from something that is supposed to protect us from fires,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Most flame retardants are highly persistent in the environment and can take decades to degrade. Because of their resilience, they can accumulate in animals, and as larger predators eat smaller organisms, the chemicals accumulate in higher quantities further up the food chain.<\/p>\n

The highest levels have been found in large marine mammals and birds of prey, and the chemicals are suspected of decimating killer whales\u2019 population because they do so much harm to the species\u2019 calves and immune systems. Some research\u00a0predicts the chemicals could wipe out half the world\u2019s killer whale population.<\/p>\n

The chemicals were found at extremely high levels in black-spotted frogs living near electronic-waste facilities in China, and appear to be shrinking the animals\u2019 livers and harming their eggs.<\/p>\n

Flame retardants are also highly mobile and travel long distances through water and air. Research found high levels in chimpanzees in a protected Ugandan national park deep in Africa\u2019s interior, far from a flame retardant production or disposal site.<\/p>\n

The issue is all the more frustrating to environmental health advocates because flame retardants have generally been found to be ineffective in most applications, and are based on 1970s standards. There was little data on the chemicals\u2019 effectiveness and toxicity at the time, Jahl said, and the requirements were put in place when more flammable materials were used, and more people smoked.<\/p>\n

Some states and countries have started eliminating or revising flammability standards, and ending unnecessary uses of flame retardants. Once in the environment, the chemicals are extremely difficult to clean up because they are widespread in the soil, air, water and most human and animal blood.<\/p>\n

Though the standards \u201cmay seem protective at first glance, many cause widespread and lasting harm for no real benefit\u201d, Jahl said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn general these are outdated standards that don\u2019t have data behind them, but lead to pervasive flame retardant usage, and that\u2019s how it gets into animals worldwide,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Article written by Tom Perkins Originally published by The Guardian (Wed, 18 Oct, 2023) More than 100 species, from frogs to killer whales, contaminated with long-lasting chemicals with serious health effects More than a hundred species of wildlife found across every continent are contaminated with highly toxic flame retardants, and the pollution is probably responsible […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":34316,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,31],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/animalsurvival.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34314"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/animalsurvival.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/animalsurvival.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/animalsurvival.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/animalsurvival.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34314"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/animalsurvival.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34314\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34324,"href":"https:\/\/animalsurvival.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34314\/revisions\/34324"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/animalsurvival.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/animalsurvival.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/animalsurvival.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/animalsurvival.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}