Global News - May 2008
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Banned pesticide 'still showing up in penguins'
Mon 12 May 2008 14:00 UK — South America,Birds
New research has suggested that a harmful pesticide banned across the globe decades ago is still showing up in the bodies of penguins in Antarctica.
A report from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science showed that DDT was still showing up in the bodies of Adelie penguins.
They noted that DDT levels have not dropped since the harmful pesticide was banned in the US and elsewhere in the 1970s.
In the report, the scientists suggested that the chemical might have accumulated in the Antarctic ice and is being released as this melts due to climate change.
Heidi Geisz explained: "DDT, along with a lot of other of these organic contaminants, actually travel through the atmosphere ... toward the polar regions by a process of evaporation and then condensation in cooler climates."
However, the report's authors added that the levels of DDT detected in the penguins were low and would not cause damage to the birds' eggs.
The authors did note that the warming of the Antarctic Peninsula is threatening the penguins, as it makes it harder for the birds to protect their eggs.
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June 2008
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