Diverse pollutants found in Kenting coral

Want China Times, CNA 2013-11-12

Corals reefs in Kenting. (Photo Courtesy of Tsai Yongchun)

Corals from reefs in Nanwan, a small bay west of the resort town of Kenting, were found to contain dozens of different environmental hormones, the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium in Pingtung county, southern Taiwan, said Monday.

During an extensive study, museum researchers found evidence that corals found throughout the area harbor dozens of types of persistent organic pollutants deep within its tissues, with some proven to be environmental hormones, according to the museum.

The study was published online Monday by the international journal Environmental Pollution.

Environmental hormones are regarded as serious environmental hazards that have disruptive effects on both wildlife and humans.

In analyzing coral tissue from the area, researchers detected several environmental hormones, but the most common one was polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

PAHs are a group of organic contaminants that result from the incomplete combustion of organic fuels, such as coal.

They can also originate from carbon dioxide emitted by vehicles and ships and the incomplete combustion of garbage and oil spills and are distributed widely in the atmosphere.

Because of their relatively stable chemical structure, PAHs do not easily dissolve in water or disperse into the air, according to researchers.

Researchers said in the study that levels of environmental hormones vary in different areas and times.

After heavy summer rains, for example, the level of contaminants in coral from the mouth of the Shih Niou river in Kenting is usually higher than during other seasons, signaling that land erosion and wash-off could threaten coral reef eco-systems.

In addition, increasing human activity, including human travel, could lead to the growing accumulation of environmental hormones in coral reefs, the museum said.