LOCHNAGAR offers some of the most exclusive fishing in the world. Anglers landing brown trout from its clear waters know they follow in the wader-prints of generations of royals who have fished on the Balmoral estate.
The loch, which lies at an altitude of 2550ft in the centre of Balmoral forest, is well known for its wilderness and isolation.
But scientists revealed yesterday that fish caught on the royal land were contaminated with high levels of flame-retardant chemicals.
They contained concentrations almost 10 times higher than those in other north European mountain lakes. Researchers from Spanish and Norwegian universities investigating the airborne spread of polybromo diphenyl esters (PBDEs) found all the lakes they investigated were contaminated.
Although lowland rivers and lakes have shown higher levels of the flame retardants, environmentalists said the results showed PBDEs could spread thousands of miles across countryside.
PBDEs belong to a class of chemicals linked with damaging brain development and causing cancer.
Dr Richard Dixon, head of policy at WWF Scotland, said: "It is shocking that even remote parts of Scotland are contaminated with these chemicals – even worse when they turn up at one of our most famous locations, so closely associated with the royals.
"Fish are at the top of the food chain, so these persistent chemicals build up in their organs. Humans are a top predator too, so the only long-term solution is to phase out these chemicals entirely." Lochnagar, in the Cairngorms national park, famously served as the setting for Prince Charles's story The Old Man of Lochnagar, about the adventures of an old man who lived in a cave by the loch. Prince Charles has also painted the waterside scene many times.
Yesterday, Peter Ord, the Balmoral factor, said the contamination was part of a global problem. "We are talking about diffuse pollution world-wide and therefore it is up to everyone to be concerned," he said.
Martin Holroyd, secretary of the Ballater Angling Association, whose members are among the few with rights to fish on Lochnagar, said: "It really is a beautiful place and this is so disappointing.
"The environment has been neglected for a long time. Governments pay lip service without really doing anything." PBDEs are used as flame retardants in plastic items, such as electronic and electrical goods casings, printed circuit boards, textiles and in foam for furniture and cars.
Each year, between 11,000 and 25,000 tonnes are used in the European Union alone, according to the WWF. The chemicals, which are resistant to degradation, are thought to seep into the environment from landfill sites or are released into the atmosphere on incineration.
Although the levels of flame retardants found in the fish are not known to be hazardous, they can be passed up the food chain. In Scotland, animals and birds, such as otters and herons, which eat the fish can take in the chemicals.
Dr Dixon said: "These PBDEs will have arrived as dust washed out of the air by rain and snow. Once in the lake water, they would have entered the food chain, eventually reaching the trout and anyone who has been eating them."
The researchers analysed freshwater fish from 11 high mountain lakes in northern Europe, plus one in Greenland, for the study, which was the first to have investigated the presence of PBDEs in remote mountain lakes.
Earlier this year, a US scientist raised fears over the safety of Scottish farmed salmon, warning that it contained higher levels of toxins than samples caught elsewhere.
Last month The Herald revealed that high levels of flame-retardant substances had been found in Scottish farmed salmon.
The WWF is campaigning for tighter regulation of chemicals in Europe and hopes to push environmental issues up the political agenda ahead of European elections in June.
source: http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/13420-print.shtml 6apr04
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