By Savannah Meacham in Brisbane

Forever chemicals could cause a population collapse in freshwater turtles after scientists observed serious health impacts as a result of exposure to the toxins.

Scientists have found that PFAS – known as forever chemicals – can cause deadly conditions, birth defects and population decline in adult turtles and their hatchlings.

Forever chemicals exist in a range of consumer, industrial and commercial products such as non-stick food packaging and cookware.

The substance can leach into soils and groundwater and does not fully break down naturally, sparking the name “forever chemicals”.

Over three years, 350 freshwater turtles were captured, measured, tagged and released to analyse the impacts of forever chemicals in the water.

Scientists found turtles had forever chemical concentrations 30 times higher in their blood and organs when existing in highly contaminated water compared to control areas with low levels.

“When we looked at the population, we found that there was a lack of juveniles at the more contaminated site,” said Suzanne Vardy, principal scientist at Queensland’s Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation.

“Our models predicted that over time, these impacts could result in a population collapse.”

CSIRO senior research scientist David Beale said exposures to high concentrations of forever chemicals impacted metabolic processes in the turtles, increasing the risk of deadly gout.

Turtle eggs had altered ratios of essential minerals and hatchlings suffered a high rate of defects in their shells.

These findings were made by using a technique to assess the thousands of molecules in an organism to understand how it responds to a contaminant.

Dr Beale said the process was similar to when humans go to a general practitioner for a blood test that reveals biochemical markers identifying current health and future indicators.

“We’re applying the same approach to wildlife, doing a deep analysis on thousands of biochemical molecules, proteins, and lipids to understand the trajectory of their health in these contaminated environments,” he said.

By using this approach, scientists can draw a link between forever chemicals and health impacts on animals.

It could be used to assess other wildlife and the impacts of forever chemicals.

The research has been published in Science Direct.