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.

英国的江豚幼崽正在被一种化学物质所毒害，这种化学物质是由母奶中的污染物产生的。

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.

研究人员发现，这些化学物质，包括多氯联苯(PCBs)，是由母亲传给小海豚的。研究人员指出，它们在母亲体内停留的时间越长，对后代的毒害就越大。

“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.

这项研究的主要作者罗西·威廉姆斯在一份声明中说:“幼豚在进食过程中暴露在有毒的化学物质混合物中，这是一个悲剧性的讽刺，而它们本该得到的只是生命关键发育阶段所需的重要营养物质。”

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

据英国广播公司报道，多氯联苯曾被用于塑料和油漆，早已被禁止，但它们的残余仍然存在。

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.’

英国广播公司补充说，在鲸鱼和海豚身上也发现了多氯联苯，并引用了最近的一项研究，该研究指出，英吉利海峡的海豚暴露在“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,科学家们倾向于监控PCB浓度分组在一起,把它们当作一个化学,但正如我们所知,他们是一群化学成分与不同的毒性水平所以有点像试图衡量咖啡因的人有多少,不知道他们是否喝了三罐红牛或三杯茶,”威廉姆斯说。

“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.”

“我们的研究强调了改变监测多氯联苯的方法的必要性，去观察单个化学物质的组成，这样我们才能更好地了解这些化学物质对我们的海洋野生动物构成的风险。”

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

2018年，在英格兰萨福克郡的15个不同地点的淡水虾中发现了可卡因和非法农药的痕迹。

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.

威廉姆斯说，研究PCB暴露在种群丰富的物种中，可以帮助那些种群数量正在减少的物种，包括虎鲸，在英国只有8只虎鲸。

“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.

威廉姆斯补充说:“作为顶级捕食者，虎鲸暴露在pcb含量最高的环境中，因为在食物链的上端，pcb会产生累积效应。”

“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.”

“很明显，海洋哺乳动物仍在遭受多氯联苯残留的影响，所以确定它们进入海洋的来源和途径是防止进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.

这项研究的共同作者之一苏珊·乔布林(Susan Jobling)说，这项研究让科学家进一步了解多氯联苯有多普遍，以及它们如何影响该地区的环境和动物。

“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.

乔布林说:“这项研究有助于我们进一步了解这些遗留的工业化学污染物，以及不同程度的暴露在复杂混合物中的影响。”

“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.”

“了解更多关于幼年动物多氯联苯暴露的知识是至关重要的，这样我们就可以尝试减轻这些危险化学物质对种群的影响，并帮助保护英国水域海洋哺乳动物的未来地位。”

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

这项研究发表在《全环境科学》杂志上。