More than 520 chemicals found in English soil, including long-banned medical substances

A recent study by the University of Leeds found over 520 chemicals, including pharmaceuticals and banned toxins, in English soils. The research, published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, suggests the chemicals originate from the practice of using treated human waste (biosolids) as fertilizer on arable land. Worryingly, nearly half of the pharmaceutical substances detected were previously unreported in global monitoring. Researchers found that even chemicals banned decades ago persist in the soil, raising concerns about long-term contamination. Scientists are concerned about these chemicals entering the food chain, potentially harming human health and impacting farm productivity by affecting plant growth and soil health. The study highlights the need to understand the pathway of these contaminants from crops to human consumption.

Explore how the topics in this article connect to other news stories

Discover articles with similar content using semantic similarity analysis.