Toxic chemicals found in brains of beached whales
Scientists at Aberdeen University have found high levels of chemical toxins in the bodies of a pod of whales stranded in Scotland three years ago.
The pilot whales were found to be contaminated with mercury and cadmium in all organs, including the brain. This is thought to be the first time that cadmium has been shown to have passed through a natural barrier in the brain that prevents such materials from entering.
The report also suggests that this toxic ‘stress’ increases the longer the whales live, and that the possibility that the chemicals were a factor in the whales navigating off course could not be ruled out.
