13 hours ago
Scots river 'has second-highest levels of fertility-harming chemical ever found'
Joint research by York University and Scots environmental charity Fidra raised alarm on contamination of 'forever chemical' TFA in rivers.
A Scots river has been found to have the second highest concentration of a toxic chemical thought to harm human fertility ever found in the world.
Joint research by York University and environmental charity Fidra has raised the alarm on levels of TFA (trifluoroacetic acid) in Glasgow's River Kelvin.
The 'forever chemical' takes more than 1000 years to break down in the environment and German government scientists recently pushed for the EU to classify it as toxic to reproduction amid growing fears.
TFA was found in 31 of 32 UK rivers surveyed by researchers, however the highest concentration of 78,464ng (nanograms) per litre was found in the Kelvin – the second highest recorded globally.
Sally Johnston, chair of Friends of the River Kelvin, said: 'We need answers on what is causing it and who is accountable.
'It's good to get evidence because then we can action things from there. But the researchers don't even know what the source of this is and it's multifarious.
'We are an urban river. Close to roads, it has been an industrialised river in the past, it's a river that's in recovery. There were 55 working mills on the Kelvin at one point, so it could be a historical issue. But as a little group, we don't have the capacity to do chemical analysis.'
Johnston said it had been a 'frantic' week for volunteers after the findings, with dog walkers asking if the Kelvin is still safe for them and their pets.
But she stressed: "We've still got a beautiful river here with amazing wildlife. It's a good thing that people become more aware of things like forever chemicals.'
"We blindly consume and then we start to ask questions when they become meaningful to us.
"So if this raises a bit of awareness and we can ask questions and get the right information, it's ultimately about becoming more knowledgeable and then being able to act on that."
TFA, which may also harm unborn babies, has been found in drinking water, wine and food, blood and breast milk.
Only the record 140,000ng per litre found in the Neckar River in Germany in 2016 is worse.
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Of the UK rivers tested, only the Ness in the Highlands had no TFA.
Alistair Boxall of York University said: 'It is likely levels in drinking water will be similar to those we found in some of the rivers. While there are methods to remove TFA from drinking water, these are very expensive and likely impractical.
'We urgently need to stop chemicals like TFA at source so they don't get into our environment.'
Hannah Evans of Fidra said: 'We're asking the UK Government to turn off the tap of these persistent forever chemicals.'
Germany's Federal Office for Chemicals last month said TFA 'may cause harm to the unborn child' and 'may impair fertility'.
Environment watchdog Sepa said: 'We are considering the contents of this report and will be engaging with the researchers to better understand their findings.'
