WILLIE LIKES PCB'S THO

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A female killer whale that washed up on Washington state's Olympic

Peninsula earlier this year has been found to have off-the-charts

levels of PCBs in its blubber, according to tests in federal labs.

The levels were so high that the first time scientists tested the

orca, their machine could not read the results and the equipment had

to be recalibrated. With 1,000 parts PCBs per million parts of fat,

the killer whale tested dramatically above the 58 ppm found to be

common for female orcas in the most comprehensive study to date. The

reading is also much higher than the concentrations of PCBs known to

adversely affect the growth, reproduction, and immune system of the

harbor seal, another marine mammal. Although PCBs have been banned

since 1977, they are extremely persistent and continue to be found

throughout the marine food chain. The radically high levels in the

dead killer whale add new urgency to questions about water quality in

the West Coast's oceans and bays.

 

straight to the source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Robert McClure,

07 May 2002

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