Head of the Toad Project Dr. Jamie Bacon will be updating the public next Tuesday on some of the project?s recent results. Results from the ongoing study have already showed that Bermuda?s ponds may have the dubious distinction of being more polluted than the worse sites in North America.

And the pollution could be linked to health problems in humans ? possibly even having an effect on the Island?s cancer rate.

Dr. Bacon will give a lecture on the subject entitled ?Bermuda?s Ponds: Toadally Toxic!? in the Education Auditorium at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 27.

Abnormality rates in toads ? including shortened, missing or extra limbs and missing or misplaced eyes ? leapt from less than one percent in 1995-97 to at least 19 percent in 1999-2000.

The normal abnormality rate would have been expected to be around three percent at most. And, as amphibians are vertebrates who are susceptible to environmental change, scientists worry that humans ? who are also vertebrates ? could eventually succumb to the same problems.

Dr. Bacon has been researching the subject since 1997, but it was not until 2000 that the Bermuda Amphibian Research Project ? popularly known as the Toad Project ? was officially launched.

?Bermuda?s amphibians face a variety of threats, including exposure to a number of environmental contaminants, which could in turn be affecting human health,? Dr. Bacon said. ?We have been conducting research into Bermuda?s amphibians and the causes behind their malformations for several years.

For advance tickets, contact Nicola Lucas on 293-2727 ext. 137, or e-mail at bzsmarketingibl.bm. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.bamz.org.