After a True's beaked whale washed ashore in Virginia, Woods Hole chemist Emma Teuten toiled for seven months trying to whittle 10 kilograms of blubber down to a milligram of methoxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers – chemicals synthesized for use as industrial flame retardants and regarded as persistent environmental pollutants. But improved carbon dating methods revealed that these PBDEs were natural compounds, possibly originating in marine sponges. The surprising find has focused a debate about the risks of exposure to synthetic compounds.
Halogenated organic compounds like PBDEs include some of the most notorious industrial pollutants: polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, and the infamous pesticide DDT. Concerns over toxicity to humans and the environment have led to bans on many of these so-called persistent organic pollutants. "For a long time, whenever we found a source of chloroform or dioxin or something, it was assumed to be from pollution from pesticides or other man-made ...
