Toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are produced by forest fires and fossil fuel combustion, have been found to contaminate the muscles and liver tissue of some species of killer whales. Bloomberg writes about this, citing researchers from the University of British Columbia, UNN reports.
Our research shows that these killer whales are likely exposed to chemicals from these sources
Details
PAHs from petroleum sources have been found in southern resident killer whales along the coast between Washington State and British Columbia, making them susceptible to pollution from fossil fuel refineries, vehicle exhaust, and oil spills.
PAHs associated with wildfires and other pyrogenic sources have been detected in Bigg's orcas. In Canada, endangered Bigg's orcas roam the Pacific Ocean from Alaska to Mexico and live far from coastal infrastructure.
The researchers based their findings on tissue samples from a dozen killer whales that washed up on the shores of British Columbia between 2006 and 2018, before record-breaking wildfires burned vast swaths of California and the Pacific Northwest in recent years.
Recall
In the summer of , wildfires in northern California covered almost 115 thousand hectares and became the largest fire in the state's history.