lswinford
10-June-2005, 04:47 PM
A June 6, 2005 article posted in The Scientist, ""Industrial" Pollutants Reveal a Surprising Origin" (http://www.the-scientist.com/2005/6/6/24/1), asks an interesting question.
It appears that some of the pollutants we blanketly like to point to factories and human origins are naturally occuring after all. Checking out pollutants in the blubber of a beached whale, what initially was taken to be industrial flame retardant was instead sourced to some sponges the whale ate.
I am reminded of a beverage bottler that was the focus of an investigation several years ago, for introducing unsafe levels of some chemicals into their product and waste water. The chemicals were added to their testing list and the company discovered that they had not added it, but it was naturally occuring in their water source. It just wasn't on their list of things to look for, and they had a fairly long list.
It appears that some of the pollutants we blanketly like to point to factories and human origins are naturally occuring after all. Checking out pollutants in the blubber of a beached whale, what initially was taken to be industrial flame retardant was instead sourced to some sponges the whale ate.
I am reminded of a beverage bottler that was the focus of an investigation several years ago, for introducing unsafe levels of some chemicals into their product and waste water. The chemicals were added to their testing list and the company discovered that they had not added it, but it was naturally occuring in their water source. It just wasn't on their list of things to look for, and they had a fairly long list.