SF Chronicle: Flame retardant found in peregrine falcon eggs

[El Pinko]

Peregrine falcon nestlings await the return of their parents atop a San Francisco skyscraper. Chronicle photo, 2004, by Lea Suzuki



http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/08/MN2S10HPVE.DTL


Flame retardant found in peregrine falcon eggs
Jane Kay, Chronicle Environment Writer
Thursday, May 8, 2008

The eggs of peregrine falcons living in California's big cities contain some of the highest levels ever found in wildlife of a flame retardant used in consumer products, a new study has found.

Studies of peregrine falcon eggs and chicks by state scientists reveal that the birds hunting in San Francisco, Long Beach, Los Angeles and San Diego are ingesting the flame retardant called PBDEs, believed to leach out of foam mattresses, synthetic fabrics, plastic casings of televisions, electronics and other products. The research shows that the indoor chemicals can contaminate the outdoors and even humans.

The predator birds - which can fly 200 mph - feed on pigeons and other birds, which probably pick up the chemicals in the environment from sewage, landfills and runoff, scientists say. Humans can be exposed by inhaling household dust and absorbing the chemicals through the skin.

"Urban wildlife are the sentinel species that can tell us about chemicals of emerging concern that are coming from city exposures. Information from these species can be useful to us in protecting the sensitive members of our population like infants, children and pregnant women," said Kim Hooper, one of the leading research scientists with the California Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Chemistry Laboratory.





This is terrible, and a genuine cause for concern, but I have to admit that one of the main reasons I posted this is because the baby falcons are so damn ADORABLE.

[noonwitch]

1. It sounds like the PBB I was exposed to in the 70s

Most of Michigan ingested it in their dairy products. I was in elementary school, and the whole thing scared me so badly. The news reported "kill sites" where the farmers had to bring their cows to be destroyed, then buried in cement vaults, so the chemicals wouldn't get in the groundwater. We would discuss it in our 3rd and 4th grade classes, because all of the kids were scared by it (and a lot of our hippie teachers were pissed off about it).

The USDA made a mistake in packaging their cattle feed, and ended up selling Michigan farmers fire retardant instead of feed. It pretty much destroyed family dairy farming in the state. It could have been worse, though, because the main milk providers to metro Detroit (Sealtest/Twin Pines) bought their milk out of state. But everyone in the rest of the state got exposed, unless they didn't drink milk. The farmers who drank it from the cows, without pastuerizing it first, actually became ill and had a lot of health problems.

When I had my 9th grade health class in 1979, my teacher told us that all of us girls should have our breast milk checked prior to breast-feeding babies. When my sister had the class in 1981 or 82, they were no longer giving this advice.

[LeftinOH]

2. I love the urban peregrin falcons --they eat pigeons.........n/t