![]() ![]() ‘This has a serious impact on economic activity, including tourism because the health risk also applies to bathing and fishing areas.’ ![]() ‘All these phenomena can lead to a temporary ban on collecting shellfish in those zones to comply with health regulations,’ said Dr Sauleau, who is working alongside the shellfish industry in Brittany, western France. ‘Sponges accumulate significant quantities of pollutants and could therefore contribute to preserving water quality or indeed cleaning up polluted zones,’ said Dr Pierre Sauleau from the University of South Brittany’s Biotechnology and Marine Chemistry Lab, France.Įurope’s coastal waters are periodically contaminated by numerous sources – overloaded sewage plants, medicines, pesticides, efflorescence of micro-algae in the water or chemicals from the sediment that is dredged from ports and dumped at sea. The EU Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical substances (REACH) regulation has improved identification of the environmental risks posed by substances, while the Water Framework Directive aims to cut back pollution in fresh water and coastal water. One such substance is methylmercury, produced by burning some types of waste, which can affect the brain and nervous system of an unborn child. These fish are eaten by bigger fish, birds, land animals or even humans. When pollutants enter the food chain, their concentration is likely to increase through a process known as biomagnification.įor example, if a pesticide enters rivers, it is taken up by marine organisms, which are then eaten by fish. ![]()
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