The Commonwealth Scientific Industrial and Research Organisation (CSIRO) has partnered with the Queensland Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science, and Innovation (DETSI) to study the impact of ‘forever chemicals’ on freshwater turtles. This is still an ongoing study; however, some of the early results are heartbreaking. It is not only the adult turtles that are vulnerable, but their hatchlings are being affected too.
Research and awareness concerning ‘forever chemicals’ began in the late 1930’s. PFAS or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances are a group of man-made chemicals that are used in everyday items like carpets, cosmetics and sunscreens, firefighting foams, medical devices and even clothing and cookware. They are called “forever chemicals” because many of these chemicals take over 1000 years to breakdown. PFAS pose a significant risk not just to humans, but also the wildlife – fewer animal babies are being born, and the juveniles are being born with developmental defects and/or delays impacting their long-term growth and survival.
Over a period of 3 years, researchers from CSIRO and DETSI went into lakes and rivers around Queensland and caught, studied, tagged, and released around 350 freshwater turtles. Dr. Suzanne Vardy, DETSI’s principal scientist, said “PFAS concentrations were detected up to 30 times higher in the blood and organs of turtles from the highly contaminated area, compared to control sites where there were low levels of PFAS in the water.” They also found a distinct lack of juvenile or young turtles at sites which were more contaminated with PFAS. Dr. Vardy is worried that, as per their modelling, continued exposure to PFAS over time could lead to a population collapse or significant reduction in the number of freshwater turtles seen.
CSIRO scientists used an omics-based tool, which looks at molecules inside an organism to see how they respond and react to a disease or contamination. They found higher rates of defects in hatchling shells. The ratio of essential minerals normally found in turtle eggs had also been altered. They also found that adult turtles had a high chance of contracting gout, a disease known to be deadly to reptiles. David Beale, senior scientist at CSIRO, said “This revolutionary approach has allowed researchers to draw the link between levels of PFAS contamination and impacts on animal health. It lays the groundwork for omics-based techniques to be used in future research assessing how much PFAS affects a range of biological processes in Australian wildlife.”
DETSI is working with other organisations and groups, helping to fund ground- breaking research to help curtail PFAS chemicals. Queensland is the first state in Australia to place rules and regulations on the use of PFAS. To protect our unique biodiversity, the rest of Australia must follow suit and place bans and restrictions to either lessen or discontinue the use of PFAS chemicals. The Australian government is planning to phase out 3 of these chemicals – perflurooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perflurooctanoic acid (PFOA), and perflurohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) by July 1st, 2025.
References:
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/forever-chemicals-pfas-health-turtles
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969724064696Plasticplasftgvv
https://english.news.cn/asiapacific/20241112/40371372126b45749cddc1de518db608/c.html
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8817411/turtle-shell-shock-as-chemicals-pose-population-risk
https://publications.csiro.au/publications/publication/PIcsiro:EP2024-4233
https://observervoice.com/the-alarming-impact-of-pfas-on-australian-turtles-87330/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39537477
https://newscop.com.au/2024/11/12/pfas-contamination-is-killing-freshwater-turtles-csiro-study/