Dolphins 'heavily affected' by Deepwater Horizon spill

Dolphins in the area affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill have been found to suffer from a number of health problems. A new study has found that dolphins in the area of the Macondo well have developed a number of health problems, which indicates that other sea life in the vicinity of the spill might also be drastically affected.

Those dolphins that swim in water that has been contaminated by the oil spill in 2010 have displayed higher rates of lung damage and abnormalities in the adrenal hormones, when compared to other populations of dolphins in the US. 

The study, published in the journal 'Environmental Science and Technology', focussed on bottlenose dolphins that swim in Barataria Bay, which is off the coast of Louisiana. Researchers found that those swimming in areas that had suffered heavy contamination from the disastrous oil spill show injuries that are "consistent with toxic effects observed in laboratory studies of mammals exposed to petroleum hydrocarbons", according to a statement. 

Some 32 dolphins were captured in the bay for examination before being released. Of those 32, 48 per cent were described as "guarded" or worse, with 17 per cent being found to be in very bad condition healthwise, with little chance of survival. A control group of dolphins taken from Sarasota Bay in Florida, which had not been affected by the Deepwater Horizon incident, was used as a comparison.

While some of the injuries and illnesses found within the dolphins were common among mammals exposed to toxins found in crude oil, the researchers found that the adrenal hormone abnormalities were more unusual. The researchers said in their National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) statement that the hormone response was very similar to that seen in studies in which mink are exposed to fuel oil.

A representative from BP, the energy firm that was in charge of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig when the oil spill occurred, challenged the researcher's findings in a statement made to the Huffington Post. 

The representative said: "The symptoms that NOAA has observed in this study have been seen in other dolphin mortality events that have been related to contaminants and conditions found in the northern Gulf, such as PCBs, DDT and pesticides, unusual cold stun events, and toxins from harmful algal blooms. The symptoms are also consistent with natural diseases such as Morbillivirus and Brucellosis."