In 20 Miles From Its Headwaters To The City Of York, The Foss River Picks Up More Than 1,000 Chemicals, Most Artificial

[hatrack]

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Trailing down the centre of Britain is one river whose chemical makeup scientists know better than any other. The Foss threads its way through North Yorkshire’s forestry plantations, patchworked arable land and small hamlets, before descending into the city of York, passing roads and car parks, gardens replacing farmland. Along the course of its 20-mile (32km) length, the chemical fingerprints of modern life accumulate.

“The Foss is the river that we understand the most,” says Prof Alistair Boxall from the University of York, who has been leading the research across Yorkshire’s rivers. He leads the Ecomix research project which studies 10 rivers across the region, developing ways to examine these chemicals in greater depth than ever before. “This is the chemical pulse of Yorkshire water,” he says, and the findings from the water here are likely to be replicated across the country. “People are surprised. They typically think of plastics and sewage. People don’t make the connection between the chemicals we use and the environment.”

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This spot is about 10 miles from the source of the Foss. Fields of wheat and oilseed rape back on to the water from the other side of the river. Three thousand chemicals were detected here (of which 40% are likely to occur naturally). In the targeted analysis scientists identified 40 chemicals including livestock medicines, pharmaceuticals, UV filters, fungicides and herbicides. In total they were looking for 52 chemicals (excluding metals) and found 44 across the three sampling sites on the Foss. They chose to focus on these chemicals because they are known for toxicity and potential harm to aquatic organisms.

By the time it reaches York city centre – about another 10 miles away – an additional 1,000 chemicals have been added to the river, including household chemicals such as antibiotics and cosmetics as the river passes from agricultural areas into villages and towns. On the outskirts of York at New Earswick, Boxall documented the second highest level of paracetamol in the water ever measured in Europe, after a sewage system failure. It was 1,000 times the normal level.

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/29/pesticides-antibiotics-animal-medicines-chemical-cocktail-britain-rivers-aoe

[WestMichRad]

1. Yikes!

In hindsight, I shouldn’t be surprised by this finding, but OMG… anything we use can potentially (and apparently does) eventually end up in the river.

I wonder how badly our aquifers are contaminated with the myriad of chemicals we use. Soils and rock are capable of filtering out some stuff, but their capacity isn’t limitless.

[hatrack]

2. As the saying goes, there is no "away" to throw things into . . .

.