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Spinal Deformities in Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Fish Linked to Toxic Mineral Selenium, New Research Shows

Native fish discovered with spinal deformities in California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in 2011 were exposed to high levels of selenium from their parents and food they ate as juveniles in the San Joaquin River, new research has found.

The finding published in Environmental Science and Technology indicates that some fish in the region may experience harmful levels of selenium. Selenium is a naturally occurring mineral that is essential to life but turns toxic and can cause deformities at high levels. Deformities were also found in birds exposed to selenium concentrated in agricultural runoff in the same area in the 1980s…

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