Great Barrier reef turtles in danger thanks to human pollutants
The Great Barrier Reef is one of the world's most beautiful habitats, and is home to hundreds of marine life species.
One resident of the reef is being negatively impacted by human pollution and chemicals.
The green sea turtle has been found to have been impacted by contamination, researchers found.
Human medications, pesticides, herbicides and industrial chemicals have all been found in the blood streams of the sea creatures, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
'What you put down your sink, spray on your farms, or release from industries ends up in the marine environment and in turtles in the Great Barrier Reef,' said environmental chemist Amy Heffernan from the University of Queensland
'Humans are putting a lot of chemicals into the environment and we don't always know what they are and what effect they are having, we need to be conscious of that,' she said.
'There is one new chemical registered for use every six seconds, so the libraries and the databases that we use to identify these chemicals just can't keep up.'
Turtles from multiple areas were tested by the researchers.
Chemical exposure has been linked to stress and other negative side effects in marine wildlife.
The turtles tested were already showing indications of inflammation and liver dysfunction.
Moral of the story? Be careful what you pour down the sink.
