Traces of drugs are found in city’s rivers

TRACES OF almost 30 pharmaceutical drugs, including antidepressants, antibiotics and medicines to treat epilepsy and diabetes, have been found in rivers in York.

Scientists found 29 different drug compounds in the River Ouse and River Foss, including some from drugs not usually available in the UK, thought to have been ingested by American and Chinese tourists.

The University of York team stressed that although the levels were extremely low – drinking two litres of river water would give you about a millionth of a patient’s daily dose of one drug – there were concerns over the long-term implications. They said that some drugs showed levels higher than previously observed across parts of Europe and Asia.

The research, led by Emily Burns in the university’s Department of Chemistry and overseen by Professor Alistair Boxall from the Environment Department, looked at samples from 11 sites over a 12-month period.

Prof Boxall said: “It is important to realise that these drugs are being emitted continuously into the environment and that we will be exposed to them across our lifetime. There is therefore a concern that some may be causing harm.”

The study has laid the foundations for a new global project led by the University of York, looking at water samples taken from 60 rivers around the world.