- LONDON (Reuters) -- French
scientists fear that pollutants from industrial sewage which contaminate
soil could be entering the food chain.
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- Researchers at the University of Franche-Comte in Besancon
discovered that snails placed in a container filled with soil from a disused
lead and zinc smelter had increased levels of cadmium in their bodies.
-
- Scientists had thought that organisms would only be able
to take up heavy metals and pollutants if they are dissolved or suspended
in water percolating through the soil but the French research suggests
the assumption is wrong.
-
- "Our work is, to our knowledge, the first evidence
of this," Renaud Scheifler, who headed the research team, told New
Scientist magazine on Wednesday.
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- The study suggests that pollutants such as cadmium, which
can cause kidney damage, anemia and bone problems, could be entering the
food chain.
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- Scheifler said it may now be necessary to check whether
other heavy metals such as zinc, copper, lead and mercury are also a bigger
hazard than previously thought.
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- "His team also wants to check if other organisms
that feed on soil can absorb heavy metals as readily as the snails,"
according to the magazine.
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