The Metro Santa Cruz newspaper is reporting that paint chips from an old Navy base on the Midway Islands is causing the deaths of thousands of threatened Laysan albatross chicks, who are dying of lead poisoning. UC–Santa Cruz assistant researcher Myra Finkelstein did a study that provided evidence that paint chips from an abandoned U.S. Navy base there was causing droopwing among the albatross population — droopwing is a neurological disease where the bird’s wings are paralyzed. Because the birds are unable to hold up their wings, they drag on the ground and become vulnerable to open sores and fractures.

“Myra’s research showed that up to 10,000 chicks are dying on Midway every year,” says Shaye Wolf, staff biologist with the CBD (Center for Biological Diversity), adding that the group also plans to sue the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources. “That’s not acceptable. We’re filing suit to start an immediate cleanup of the contamination on Midway so that thousands more birds don’t die from lead poisoning. USFWS (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) has stood by while there is an immediate solution to the problem: clean up the paint.”

With the closure of the base, the U.S. Navy turned over control of Midway to the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, part of FWS—effectively passing the buck on cleaning up the toxic mess left behind.

“We only receive so much funding to clean up the buildings. And it’s very expensive work,” says John Klavitter, co-author of Finkelstein’s latest paper and a deputy refuge manager currently stationed at Midway. “The good news is that in 2004 [after Finkelstein's initial research] we started to receive funding to remove paint from the buildings. We haven’t cleaned up the contaminated soil yet, though.”

Time is of the essence. “Right now the eggs are just starting to hatch,” he says. “As the chicks grow they will start to pick up the lead paint and we’ll start seeing the first signs of droopwing in April. They’ll be dead by June or July.”

Information from CBD about the lawsuit can be found on their website.