The chemicals mankind dumped in the sea are coming back to poison our children
The body’s first line of defence against harmful chemicals is being hampered by toxins such as DDT, PCBs and flame retardants found in fish, study finds
Poisonous chemicals dumped in the sea are coming back to haunt us in the fish we eat, interfering with a “critical defence system” of the body, according to new research.
The scientists warned that newborn babies are particularly at risk as they are exposed to high concentrations of the pollutants in breast milk and their defence mechanism is not yet fully developed.
The pollutants were found to hamper a tiny pump in the cells of the body, which acts as a ‘bouncer’ to kick out potentially harmful toxins.
This is normally so effective that the pump is a major problem for pharmaceutical companies as it often expels drugs too quickly, particularly those designed to attack cancer. It also protects our reproductive organs and plays a key role as an enforcer of the blood-brain barrier.
Samples of the pollutants – including pesticides such as the banned DDT, flame retardants used in upholstery foam and coolants like PCBs – were taken from muscle tissue of eight yellowfin tuna by scientists at the prestigious Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego.
Such chemicals have already been found in humans and also in marine wildlife such as whales, dolphins and seals.
It had been thought that the chemicals were able to slip past the ‘bouncer’, a protein known as P-gp. But the researchers found that instead they attached themselves to it, preventing it from doing its job effectively.
Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/chemicals-toxins-sea-poison-children-p-gp-a6986796.html
