Media release: Bushfire fighting chemicals extinguish frog development

"A new Griffith study has found that bushfire fighting chemicals commonly marketed as environmentally friendly can severely affect frog development.

Published in Aquatic Toxicology, the study assessed two chemicals, Phos-Chek LC95W and BlazeTamer380, used globally as alternatives for firefighting foams containing per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), the latter of which has a history of detrimental environmental effects, impacting wildlife decades after their use.

“While many current firefighting chemicals are an improvement on past formulations containing PFASs, there has been very little testing done, so we don’t have a good understanding of their ecological impacts, especially on sensitive frog species,” said ecotoxicologist and senior author Dr Chantal Lanctôt from the Australian Rivers Institute’s Toxicology Research Group (ARITOX) and Frog Research Team."

Find the full article here: https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/bushfire-fighting-chemicals-extinguish-frog-development