For related articles and more information, please visit OCA’s Farm Issues page, Environment and Climate Resource page, and our Organic Transitions page.

Loggerhead turtles could be under threat from man-made chemicals, research has revealed.

A team from the College of Charleston, South Carolina, used hi-tech satellite transmitters to track migrant loggerhead turtles from Florida, up and down the U.S. Atlantic coast.

Deadly

And they found travelling turtles picked up potentially deadly pesticides, PCBs and other organic chemicals linked to cancer and brain problems.

The results of the groundbreaking research are published today in the magazine Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.

Lead author Jared Ragland, from the College of Charleston, said: “The risks posed by persistent organic pollutants, known as POPs, remains largely a mystery for threatened loggerhead sea turtles.

“A clear understanding of these risks is critical for wildlife managers trying to maintain both the health of reproductively active individuals and a sustainable population overall.