小海豚吃了被污染的母奶，被毒死了

小海豚吃了被污染的母奶，被毒死了

Baby porpoises in the UK are being poisoned by what’s described as a “cocktail of chemicals” stemming from pollutants in their mother’s milk.

英國的江豚幼崽正在被一種化學物質(zhì)所毒害，這種化學物質(zhì)是由母奶中的污染物產(chǎn)生的。

The researchers found that the chemicals, which include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), are passed on from the mother to their calves. The longer they remain in the mothers’ bodies, the more toxic they are to their offspring, the researchers noted.

研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，這些化學物質(zhì)，包括多氯聯(lián)苯(PCBs)，是由母親傳給小海豚的。研究人員指出，它們在母親體內(nèi)停留的時間越長，對后代的毒害就越大。

“It’s a tragic irony that juvenile porpoises are being exposed to a toxic cocktail of chemicals during feeding — when all they’re supposed to be getting are the vital nutrients they need for the crucial developmental stage of their life,” the study’s lead author, Rosie Williams, said in a statement.

這項研究的主要作者羅西·威廉姆斯在一份聲明中說:“幼豚在進食過程中暴露在有毒的化學物質(zhì)混合物中，這是一個悲劇性的諷刺，而它們本該得到的只是生命關鍵發(fā)育階段所需的重要營養(yǎng)物質(zhì)。”

According to the BBC, PCBs were used in plastics and paints and have long been banned, but remnants of them still exist.

據(jù)英國廣播公司報道，多氯聯(lián)苯曾被用于塑料和油漆，早已被禁止，但它們的殘余仍然存在。

PCBs have also been discovered in whales and dolphins, the BBC added, which cited a recent study that noted dolphins in the English Channel were exposed to a ‘cocktail of pollutants.’

英國廣播公司補充說，在鯨魚和海豚身上也發(fā)現(xiàn)了多氯聯(lián)苯，并引用了最近的一項研究，該研究指出，英吉利海峽的海豚暴露在“混合污染物”中。

“Previously, scientists tended to monitor PCB concentrations by grouping them together and treating them as one chemical, but as we know, they’re a group of chemicals with different toxicity levels so it was a bit like trying to measure how much caffeine someone’s had — without knowing whether they drank three cans of red bull or three cups of tea,” Williams added.

“以前,科學家們傾向于監(jiān)控PCB濃度分組在一起,把它們當作一個化學,但正如我們所知,他們是一群化學成分與不同的毒性水平所以有點像試圖衡量咖啡因的人有多少,不知道他們是否喝了三罐紅?；蛉?”威廉姆斯說。

“Our study has highlighted the need to change our approach to monitoring PCBs, to look at the composition of individual chemicals, so that we can get a better understanding of the risk posed by these chemicals to our marine wildlife.”

“我們的研究強調(diào)了改變監(jiān)測多氯聯(lián)苯的方法的必要性，去觀察單個化學物質(zhì)的組成，這樣我們才能更好地了解這些化學物質(zhì)對我們的海洋野生動物構成的風險。”

In 2018, traces of cocaine and illegal pesticides were found inside freshwater shrimp across 15 different locations across Suffolk, England.

2018年，在英格蘭薩福克郡的15個不同地點的淡水蝦中發(fā)現(xiàn)了可卡因和非法農(nóng)藥的痕跡。

Williams said that studying PCB exposure in species that have abundant populations can help aid in those where the population numbers are dwindling, including orcas, where there are only eight remaining in the UK.

威廉姆斯說，研究PCB暴露在種群豐富的物種中，可以幫助那些種群數(shù)量正在減少的物種，包括虎鯨，在英國只有8只虎鯨。

“As top predators, killer whales are exposed to some of the highest levels of PCBs, because there is an accumulative effect of PCBs as you go up the food chain,” Williams added.

威廉姆斯補充說:“作為頂級捕食者，虎鯨暴露在pcb含量最高的環(huán)境中，因為在食物鏈的上端，pcb會產(chǎn)生累積效應。”

“It’s obvious that marine mammals are still experiencing the lingering impacts of PCBs, so identifying the sources and pathways they’re entering our oceans is a vital next step to preventing further pollution.”

“很明顯，海洋哺乳動物仍在遭受多氯聯(lián)苯殘留的影響，所以確定它們進入海洋的來源和途徑是防止進一步污染的重要一步。”

One of the study’s co-authors, Susan Jobling, said the research allows scientists to further understand how prevalent PCBs are and how they impact the environment as well as the animals in the area.

這項研究的共同作者之一蘇珊·喬布林(Susan Jobling)說，這項研究讓科學家進一步了解多氯聯(lián)苯有多普遍，以及它們?nèi)绾斡绊懺摰貐^(qū)的環(huán)境和動物。

“This research helps further our understanding of these legacy industrial chemical pollutants and the effects that different levels of exposure, in complex mixtures, may have,” Jobling said.

喬布林說:“這項研究有助于我們進一步了解這些遺留的工業(yè)化學污染物，以及不同程度的暴露在復雜混合物中的影響。”

“Learning more about PCB exposure in juvenile animals is vital, so that we can try to mitigate the impact of these dangerous chemicals on populations and help protect the future status of marine mammals in UK waters.”

“了解更多關于幼年動物多氯聯(lián)苯暴露的知識是至關重要的，這樣我們就可以嘗試減輕這些危險化學物質(zhì)對種群的影響，并幫助保護英國水域海洋哺乳動物的未來地位。”

The research is published in the scientific journal Science of the Total Environment.

這項研究發(fā)表在《全環(huán)境科學》雜志上。