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Atlantic killer whales show dangerously high levels of toxic chemicals

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2024-11-29 22:00:10

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Killer whales off Canada's Atlantic coast continue to be contaminated with dangerously high levels of toxic chemicals that put them at elevated risk of severe immune-system and reproductive problems, a recent McGill-led study has found.

The study, published in Science of the Total Environment, was based on information obtained from skin samples collected from living whales and dolphins near the French territory of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, south of Newfoundland, downstream from the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The researchers analyzed biopsies from 50 animals, representing six species of cetacean (whale or dolphin).

The researchers found the picture was brighter for other whales and dolphins studied; their levels of contamination were mostly below the thresholds for severe health risks.