TheVoiceOfJoyce Those PFAS , Forever chemicals, are killing Orcas & their offspring by entering their fetuses, through small organisms they’ve eaten. These chemicals are ubiquitous: they’re in our toilet paper, food packaging, and clothing. They’re contaminating our waters and oceans, killing mammals. They’re harmful to humans and require removal from all manufacturing. There was a law to ban them and it failed to pass. When will the present Congress, pass the Banning of PFAS chemicals? Why allow chemicals to persist in manufacturing that are known human toxins?

Posted on by jaslvr

www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/14/endangered-orcas-forever-chemicals-4np-canada

The chemical can enter the ocean from waste treatment plants or industrial runoff. Because killer whales, or orcas, sit atop the food chain, they often ingest smaller organisms tainted with the chemical – a phenomenon known as biomagnification, making orcas among the most contaminated cetaceans in the world.

As part of the study, researchers sampled the skeletal muscle and liver of orcas living along the south-western coast of British Columbia. Of particular interest were the southern resident ecotype of killer whales, a whale that has been threatened by dwindling food supply, increased marine traffic, warming waters and chemical pollution.

“This research is a wake-up call. Southern residents are an endangered population and it could be that contaminants are contributing to their population decline. We can’t wait to protect this species,” co-author Dr Juan José Alava said in a news release from the University of British Columbia.

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