The British Petroleum oil spill of 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico caused severe damage to marine life.
A recent study led by the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA), an arm of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, reveals that the dolphins in the area suffer from lung abnormalities and other respiratory problems due to exposure to toxics.
Researchers along with environment specialists from NRDA examined 32 dolphins in the area. Most of them were diagnosed with moderate to acute lung problems. Almost half were diagnosed with 'guarded and worse' condition. Another 17 percent suffered a poor and grave diagnosis with least chances of survival, according to a recent report on Wall street Journal.
Alongside the lung infections the dolphins were also found to be suffering from reduction in adrenal stress -response hormones and few of the dolphins were also underweight.
According to the researchers, the dolphins' conditions were similar to test subject in laboratory studies of old spills. "The decreased cortisol [hormone] response is something fairly unusual but has been reported from experimental studies of mink exposed to fuel oil," NRDA researchers said, reports Huffington Post. "The respiratory issues are also consistent with experimental studies in animals and clinical reports of people exposed to petroleum hydrocarbons."
The researchers examined dolphins from Sarasota Bay in Florida as control group and found no such problems in them.
However, British Petroleum, who owned the oil well, has refuted the claims stating that there is no connection between the spill and the dolphins' health issues. "The agency still has not provided BP with any data demonstrating the alleged poor health of any dolphins was caused by oil exposure. Indeed, NOAA has not even provided BP an injury assessment on dolphins or any other species or habitat," said the company, reports UPI.
The area has been witnessing unusual mortality rates of dolphins which include more than 1050 strandings since February, 2010, stated the researchers. One "cannot dismiss the possibility that other pre-existing environmental stressors made this population particularly vulnerable to effects from the oil spill," the authors wrote.
The authors note that the affect of the oil spill on the dophins' health in the region of Gulf of Mexico cannot be ignored as they are five times more likely to develop serious health issues than the mammals in other areas.