Flame retardant chemicals found in body fat of Tasmanian Devil

Jan 23 2008

A wild carnivorous marsupial which only exists on the Australian island state of Tasmania has been found to have high levels of flame retardant chemicals.

A senior scientist working with the 'Save the Tasmanian Devil Programme' says they have found moderately high levels of flame retardant chemicals in the body fat of 16 devils affected by a facial tumour disease.

The contagious cancer-like disease has wiped out as much as 90% of the devil population in parts of Tasmania.

Dr. Hamish McCallum says there is no significant difference between the levels of toxins found in diseased and undiseased devils and the data needs to be examined by a toxicologist.

Experts warn that the discovery raises serious concerns about how deeply the toxins have penetrated, as predators such as the devils are good indicators as to where the flame retardant chemicals end up.

They say though there is no concrete link between the toxins and the devil disease, from a medical standpoint the findings must be investigated in order to establish if the chemical is the source of the disease.

Dr. Mariann Lloyd-Smith from the International Persistent Organic Pollutants Elimination Network says an urgent study is also needed into the levels of the chemicals in the Tasmanian human population, because the higher up the food chain, the higher the chemicals bio-concentrate level.

Dr. Lloyd-Smith says it is important to remember that humans are at the top of that food chain.

The Tasmanian Devil is stocky and muscular and the size of a small dog; it is now the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world.

The Devil has black fur and exudes an offensive odour when stressed; it is noted for it's extremely loud and disturbing screech, and viciousness when feeding.

It hunts prey and scavenges carrion and is usually a solitary creature.

Before they became officially protected in 1941, Tasmanian Devils were hunted because they were regarded as a threat to livestock in Tasmania.

The facial tumour disease threatens the survival of the species, which may soon be listed as endangered and programmes are currently being undertaken by the Tasmanian government to reduce the impact of the disease.