A toxic concoction of ‘chemical cocktails’ have been detected at over 1,600 river and other freshwater sites across England, wildlife charities have found.
Analysis of Environment Agency data by Wildlife and Countryside Link has revealed harmful chemical cocktails in 814 river and lake sites and in 805 groundwater sites across England.
The analysis, which was carried out with The Rivers Trust, also found that over half (54%) of these sites contained three or more of the five harmful chemical cocktails investigated.
The cocktails found contained six different chemicals in five different hazardous mixtures, including four toxic forever chemicals (PFOS, PFOA, PFBS and PFHxS), the pesticide 2,4-D and ibuprofen.
Richard Benwell, CEO of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said: ‘A harmful chemical cocktail is being stirred up in UK rivers, putting wildlife and public health at risk. Government regulates and monitors chemicals individually, ignoring the cocktail effect.
‘But our research shows that toxic combinations of pesticides, pharmaceuticals and forever chemicals are polluting rivers up and down the country. The new Chemicals Strategy must make sure harmful substances are regulated not just for individual risks, but for their effects in combination.’
Sign up here to recieve our free daily news and jobs bulletin.
