Fish in today’s oceans contain far lower levels of mercury, DDT and other toxic substances than at any time in the last four decades, according to a major review from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California.
“Looking at nearly 2,700 studies of pollutants in fish, the researchers saw steady, significant drops in the concentrations of a wide range of contaminants known to accumulate in fish — from about 50% for mercury to more than 90% for PCBs,” reports the LA Times.
One 2015 study showed mercury levels in bluefish caught off the U.S. Atlantic coast had officially dropped 43% since 1972.
Scientists say the drop is due to federal restrictions on coal plant emissions that have resulted in less mercury being transported by rainfall into the ocean.
However, researchers warned that many fish in the wild still have pollutant levels considered unsafe if consumed frequently by humans.
(READ the full article in the LA Times)
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