The ocean is poisoned, half of the killer whales will die

Half of the killer whales who live in the natural environment will die because the ocean is poisoned in the next few decades.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were previously used to make electrical and plastic components that are one of the most toxic substances polluting the ocean. Despite the fact that this substance has been banned for industrial use, its residual in the global ocean is still very large.

The killer whale is easily extinct because it is at the top of the natural food chain - (Photo: Metro).

According to research by an international team of scientists, with the concentration of PCBs in seawater today, in the next 30 to 50 years, about 50% of live killer whales will be killed.

According to new research published in Science, the number of killer whale populations is currently only 10 of 19 populations surveyed. Groups of investigated whales living in polluted ocean areas from Britain, Brazil and Gibraltar Strait are especially more dangerous when rare killer whales are born in these areas.

Despite the ban on the use of PCBs globally 30 years ago, "killer whales are a testament to the trouble these compounds bring ," the study authors claim.

The main reason why marine killer whales are affected by seawater pollution is because they are at the top of the food chain . Toxins penetrate the killer whales when they eat seals or other animals.

After that, a large amount of PCBs still exists in their tissues and the killer killer whale transmits this toxin to their offspring via breast milk. Currently some killer whales have PCB concentrations as high as 1,300mg / kg, while previous studies have shown that only 50mg is sufficient for infertility and serious damage to the animal's immune system.