Will we be Fishless?: Part IX

Posted on March 12, 2021 by borderslynn

The problem of responsibly disposing of PCBs has been with us for over a century, since Monsanto first developed them. PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, are industrial products or chemicals. learn that definition and don’t forget what is poisoning this Planet and how it first began to do so.

Many of us know them as PCBs and expect, after all we have heard of the harm they do to the marine environment, that by now they are being captured before they end up in the oceans.

Of course, that is a fantasy. We continue our anthropogenic violence toward this beautiful Planet inexorably.

“ PCBs were banned in the U.S. in 1979 amid suggestions that these chemicals could have unintended impacts on human and environmental health.“

So states the item in the NOAA Ocean service pages on the subject.

It is no longer a suggestion, it is a well known fact.

The article goes on to tell us:

From the 1920s until their ban, an estimated 1.5 billion pounds of PCBs were made for things such as microscope oils, electrical insulators, capacitors, and electric appliances such as television sets or refrigerators. PCBs were also sprayed on dirt roads to keep the dust down prior to knowing some of the unintended consequences from widespread use. 

Prior to the ban in 1979, PCBs entered the air, water, and soil during manufacture and use. Wastes from the manufacturing process that contained PCBs were often placed in dump sites or landfills. Occasionally, accidental spills and leaks from these facilities or transformer fires could result in PCBs entering the environment.

Any item containing PCBs manufactured before 1979 remains a threat to the environment, these include (according to the US Environment Protection Agency:

Products that may contain PCBs include:

  • Transformers and capacitors
  • Electrical equipment including voltage regulators, switches, re-closers, bushings, and electromagnets
  • Oil used in motors and hydraulic systems
  • Old electrical devices or appliances containing PCB capacitors
  • Fluorescent light ballasts
  • Cable insulation
  • Thermal insulation material including fiberglass, felt, foam, and cork
  • Adhesives and tapes
  • Oil-based paint
  • Caulking
  • Plastics
  • Carbonless copy paper
  • Floor finish

I do not need to look far in my country to see these still in use, and if being disposed of we have recycling centres where we assume such waste is being disposed of responsibly.

The EPA further explains:

Release and Exposure of PCBs

Today, PCBs can still be released into the environment from:

  • Poorly maintained hazardous waste sites that contain PCBs
  • Illegal or improper dumping of PCB wastes
  • Leaks or releases from electrical transformers containing PCBs
  • Disposal of PCB-containing consumer products into municipal or other landfills not designed to handle hazardous waste
  • Burning some wastes in municipal and industrial incinerators

PCBs do not readily break down once in the environment. They can remain for long periods cycling between air, water and soil. PCBs can be carried long distances and have been found in snow and sea water in areas far from where they were released into the environment. As a consequence, they are found all over the world. In general, the lighter the form of PCB, the further it can be transported from the source of contamination.

PCBs can accumulate in the leaves and above-ground parts of plants and food crops. They are also taken up into the bodies of small organisms and fish. As a result, people who ingest fish may be exposed to PCBs that have bioaccumulated in the fish they are ingesting.

The US Environment Defence Fund provide the following advice:

PCBs in fish and shellfish

PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, are highly toxic industrial compounds. They pose serious health risks to fetuses, babies and children, who may suffer developmental and neurological problems from prolonged or repeated exposure to small amounts of PCBs. These chemicals are harmful to adults as well. Although they were banned from manufacture in the United States in 1977, PCBs are slow to break down and can persist in the environment at dangerous levels.

PCBs accumulate in the sediments at the bottoms of streams, rivers, lakes and coastal areas. These chemicals can build up in the fatty tissues of fish and other animals, and in high concentrations pose serious health risks to people who frequently eat contaminated fish. Based on available data on PCB concentrations in fish, Environmental Defense recommends limiting consumption of certain fish (see Health Alerts).

WHAT ARE PCBS AND WHERE DO THEY COME FROM?

PCBs are man-made chlorinated industrial chemicals also known by the trade name of Aroclor. There are 209 different PCB compounds (called congeners), which can be mixed in different combinations to yield different Aroclor compounds. These mixtures tend to be chemically stable and nonflammable, with high boiling points and electrical insulating properties.

This combination of useful chemical properties made PCBs popular for a variety of industrial applications, including use in electrical transformers, hydraulic fluids, lubricants and carbonless paper. More than 1.5 billion pounds of PCBs were manufactured in the United States before they were banned, and some electrical equipment in use today still contains PCBs.

Unfortunately, the same properties that made PCBs ideal for industrial use make them slow to break down in the environment. Most PCBs do not mix with water and settle into riverbeds, lake bottoms and coastal sediments. Here they can enter the food chain and bioaccumulate in invertebrates, fish, birds and mammals — including people.

Although these chemicals have been banned for many years, increased testing has recently shown that the problem of PCB-contaminated fish is widespread. According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Listing of Fish and Wildlife Advisories, advisories for PCBs increased 177% between 1993 and 2003 (from 319 to 884). Thirty-nine states issued PCB advisories in 2003, up from 31 states in 1993. As of 2003, more than two million lake acres and 130,000 river miles were covered by some type of PCB advisory. Three states (Indiana, Maryland and New York) and the District of Columbia have issued statewide freshwater advisories, and seven states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island) have issued statewide coastal advisories for PCBs.Statewide advisories urge people to limit their consumption of all fish and shellfish from freshwater or coastal areas.

WHAT ARE THE HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH CONSUMING PCB-CONTAMINATED FISH?

According to EPA, contaminated fish are a persistent source of PCBs in the human diet. PCBs are not highly toxic with a single dose (as in a single meal), but continued low levels of exposure (for example, eating contaminated fish over an extended period of time) may be harmful. EPA rates PCBs as “probable human carcinogens,” since they cause cancer in laboratory animals. Other tests on laboratory animals show damage from PCBs to their circulatory, nervous, immune, endocrine and digestive systems.

A number of studies indicate that PCBs harm people, with fetuses and young children especially susceptible to the effects of PCBs on their developing nervous systems. For example, some recent studies found that:

  • Children of mothers who ate fish with large amounts of PCBs from the Great Lakes had smaller head size, reduced visual recognition and delayed muscle development.
  • A mother’s exposure to PCBs and other chemicals was linked to slight effects on her child’s birth weight, short-term memory, and learning.
  • Older adults (49 to 86 years old) who ate fish containing PCBs and other contaminants had lower scores on several measures of memory and learning.

HOW CAN I REDUCE THE RISKS OF EATING SEAFOOD CONTAMINATED WITH PCBS?

PCBs build up in fish and animal fat, and therefore proper cooking methods can help reduce your exposure:

  • Before cooking, remove the skin, fat (found along the back, sides and belly), internal organs, tomalley of lobster and the mustard of crabs, where toxins are likely to accumulate.
  • When cooking, be sure to let the fat drain away and avoid or reduce fish drippings.
  • Serve less fried fish; frying seals in chemical pollutants that might be in the fish’s fat, while grilling or broiling allows fat to drain away.
  • For smoked fish, it is best to fillet the fish and remove the skin before the fish is smoked.
  • Fish low in contaminants are an important part of a healthy diet. That’s why Environmental Defense recommends limiting consumption of certain fish due to elevated PCB levels (see Health Alerts).

In the UK, fried fish and chips is the undisputed national dish.

There are no warnings to avoid this delicious meal. I have known it all my life, and although I am more inclined to eat vegan nowadays, I can be tempted with fish and chips if offered.

In the US, this is how the Clean Up is attempted. There is an effort to educate through schools too.

In 2017, here in the UK, the Guardian reported in 2017:

Did this information reach you? And, if so, are you taking responsible action?

If not, maybe you are like me and totally ignorant about the subject? I began this search for answers based on the knowledge I do have that fish contain contaminants and I should not eat them as regularly as I would like.

I am aware of media coverage of our plastic filled oceans and suffering aquamarine life. The next blog will be about Oil and Plastic, but we all do know about oil spills as they have been causing immense suffering to wildlife (and people) ever since oil was discovered.

I had never heard that ‘PCBs’ was an acronym for polychlorinated biphenyls, so I have only now taught myself a little about them. Maybe we should all take a closer look?

Race is on to rid UK waters of PCBs after toxic pollutants found in killer whale

Scientists say more must be done to eliminate the chemicals, which have a devastating impact on marine life and can end up in the food chain

The body of Lulu the killer whale was found on jagged rocks on the Isle of Tiree in the Inner Hebrides. A member of the only pod found in British waters, she had died last year after getting entangled in fishing lines.

It was a sad discovery, especially as a post-mortem revealed Lulu had never produced a calf. But the recent autopsy also revealed something else; something that is alarming marine experts and which offers a bleak, damning judgment on the state of Britain’s coastal waters. Lulu’s body contained among the highest levels of a particular type of man-made chemicals ever recorded – more than 100 times above the level that scientists say will have biological consequences for a species.

Few will have heard of PCBs – or polychlorinated biphenyls. The chemicals were banned in the late 70s amid fears about their toxicity. Recent estimates suggest that Europe produced anything between 299,000 and 585,000 tonnes of PCBs. The US produced even more.

But while industry has stopped using PCBs in the manufacture of everything from transformers to thermal insultation to paints and adhesives, millions of tonnes of the chemicals continue to be in circulation. It is only now that their enduring and pernicious impact is being understood, as support for a clean-up, along the lines of successful experiments in the US, is taking hold.

“If we go back to the late 70s or early 80s, there were major campaigns from organisations such as Greenpeace focused on what they called toxics – which included PCBs,” said Mark Simmonds, senior marine scientist at the Humane Society International.

“There was a tremendous effort to get them under control and banned and those bans were effective – the levels of PCBs being detected have clearly declined and so the campaigning organisations packed up their tents and went off to look at something else and we all kind of rejoiced and thought this was a major environmental victory.”

But Simmonds now believes the victory was, to some extent, hollow. While PCBs are no longer being produced, they are extremely hardy, given that they were designed to resist extreme heat. Guidance from the US Environmental Protection Agency explains that PCBs do not readily break down once in the environment. “They can remain for long periods cycling between air, water and soil. PCBs can be carried long distances and have been found in snow and sea water in areas far from where they were released into the environment.”

“It’s a difficult problem,” said Simmonds. “The PCBs are coming from two places – from buildings and materials that are still being destroyed and dumped, resulting in a new release of PCBs into the environment. And PCBs are also getting recycled into the wider environment through activities such as dredging programmes in estuaries.”

Ultimately, PCBs find their way into the food chain. “PCBs on land eventually get into the water course,” said Paul Jepson, a veterinary specialist in Wildlife Population Health at the Zoological Society of London. “Then they get into rivers, then into fish, then into sediment, then into estuaries then to ocean, the ultimate dump. Then they get into crabs and moluscs, then into fish, then into bigger fish and finally into apex predators such as sharks and killer whales at the top of the food chain.”

Emerging evidence of the pernicious impact of PCBs may explain why there are no great white sharks in British waters. “We should have great white sharks around the UK,” Jepson said.

“There’s no reason not to have them. Our seal population has been growing for years, there’s plenty of food and they used to be here; they were almost as widely distributed as killer whales, historically but, when did anyone see a great white shark in recent years off the UK or the north east Atlantic?”

Simmonds believes the impact of PCBs may explain the absence of other species from British waters. “As we look around the UK historically, we would have expected to see bottle-nosed dolphins in any of our estuaries,” he said. “We have them in Cardigan Bay and the Moray Firth and a few around Cornwall and Devon – but it’s very much a reduced population from where it should be. There are many different factors affecting them but one of the key things is probably PCBs repressing their reproduction and making them more vulnerable to infection.”

Equally vulnerable are polar bears, which ingest PCBs when they feast on seals. And, like killer whales, the bears can transfer PCBs to their offspring through their milk. Killer whales have an 11-month lactation period during which they produce very high fat milk for their calves. The higher the fat, the easier it is for PCBs to dissolve in it.

Unsurprisingly, then, some of the highest concentrations of PCBs recorded have been in newborn killer whales. Post-mortems conducted on some six-month-old calves found they had absorbed about 80% of the PCBs that were in their mother.

A scientific paper by Jepson and his colleagues, published last year, reveals that PCBs were found in every single one of 1,081 dolphins, porpoises and killer whales they studied. Of these – about 55% of the harbour porpoises, most of the striped dolphins and bottlenose dolphins and all the killer whales had high levels of PCB – levels that were greater than 9.0 miligrams of PCB per kilogram of their lipid or body fat. It is above this level that races of PCB can have biological consequences for certain species.

But many killer whales have far higher concentrations – typically between 10 and 100 times above the 9mg/kg threshold. Lulu had PCBs measuring 957 mg/kg lipid.

At these levels, species stop reproducing, Jepson said. This probably accounts for why Lulu’s pod produced no calves – the nightmare scenario. Ultimately, if species stop reproducing they become extinct.

And further dramatic evidence provided by researchers in this report in 2018, here is an extract and image from the piece:

Killer whales are particularly threatened in heavily contaminated areas like the waters near Brazil, the Strait of Gibraltar and around the U.K. Around the British Isles, the researchers estimate that the remaining population counts less than 10 killer whales. Also along the east coast of Greenland, killer whales are effected due to the high consumption of sea mammals like seals.

PCBs accumulate in the food chain

The killer whale is one of the most widespread mammals on Earth and is found in all of the world’s oceans from pole to pole. But today, only the populations living in the least-polluted areas include a large number of individuals. Overfishing and man-made noise may also affect the health of the animals, but PCBs can have a dramatic effect on the reproduction and immune system of the killer whales.

The diet of killer whales includes seals and large fish such as tuna and sharks the accumulate PCBs and other pollutants stored at successive levels of the food chain. It is these populations of killer whales that have the highest PCB concentrations and it is these populations that are at the highest risk of population collapse. Killer whales that primarily feed on small-sized fish such as herring and mackerel have a significantly lower content of PCBs and are thus at lower risk of effects.

It might help our human populations to be more educated about polychlorinated biphenyls and how to carefully decontaminate them to save ourselves. If the most accumulations of these contaminants are particularly at dangerous levels around Britain, then it follows we should all take an interest in the subject. It should not be a low profile area of information, but named as a high threat to the Planet emanating particularly from historical industrial applications in the UK. Our government supplies advice, but this is not written in layman’s terms.

UK waste dumped in Turkey

I can deposit waste at our local recycling centre, but there is no information about where it will end up. I know Turkey is the No 1 dumping ground for much our waste, with the intention it will be recycled. But they cannot recycle their own waste fast enough, never mind ours, and ours is dumped by roadsides or set on fire.

When I pursue the subject, I find hazardous waste is termed ‘special waste’ by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. People who know they have such ‘special waste’ must following regulations to dispose of it.

Here is an extract:

What do I do next?

All special (hazardous) waste produced in Scotland must be consigned using a SEPA-issued consignment note or code, regardless of its final destination within the UK.  Further details on how to use SWCNs during COVID-19 are available in Special waste consignment notes – temporary regulatory position.

To purchase SWCN Codes please call 07388 371621. We will provide an order number and codes via text message. Payment by BACs is strongly preferred. You can discuss alternative methods of payment with us via the phone number above.

One-page and five-page editable PDF copies of the SWCN are available to download and use. Please note that you must still purchase a unique code from SEPA to accompany them. Guidance on completing SWCNs (paper or editable PDF copies) is in our guidance on consigning special waste document. Editable PDF copies of the carrier schedule and additional sheet are aso available.

You may use your own paperwork for special waste consignments. However, you must still purchase a unique code from SEPA to accompany them.

The paperwork must be a form corresponding to Schedule 1 to The Special Waste Regulations 1996 or  “substantially to the like effect”. It must also give the details required by the Regulations in respect of that consignment.

If disposing of hazardous waste costs money, many people will illicitly dump items and ruin the environment further. In my opinion, the manufacturers of said equipment should be made, by law, to carry out the process of disposal following the legal process.

If the manufacturer no longer exists, then governments should fund the careful decontamination process and encourage those who still possess such items to bring it to special centres which should have a high profile in all localities.

I searched for a hazardous waste facility in Scotland, and it is impressive, but not sufficiently comprehensive. But had I not informed myself of this subject, I would never have felt the urge to follow through and find out what happens in the specialized hazardous waste collection, recycling, treatment and disposal process.

Tradebe website lists the kind of waste they can collect:

No farm, garage, printing works or other business who know they have these hazardous items on their premises should try to avoid responsible disposal through this kind of service. It is illegal to do otherwise. But is there adequate funding to police all industry to ensure nothing leaks into the environment through their industrial processes? How many times do we hear of chemicals polluting local rivers or outflowing to the sea? The business usually gets fined, but they are not put out of business. Yet they add to the accumulation of harm on this Earth, and are not being severely punished.

As responsible individual citizens we want to do what we can to dispose of our waste responsibly but we may be doing harm without knowing it as the subject is not sufficiently high profile enough.

It is not simply a matter we can leave to activists. It is not an eccentric interest. It has relevance for all life on earth.

Today I saw some Fieldfare thrushes about to begin their migration out of the UK. They used to be plentiful, arriving in their hundreds here. But today I counted less than 6. They are one of the Red Status endangered species. Each day of my life I find there are fewer and fewer examples of wildlife flourishing in my country.

What will be left for future generations when, during my lifetime, I have seen such chaos and destruction rip through this Planet?

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Will we be Fishless?: Part VIII

Posted on March 11, 2021 by borderslynn

The ‘elephant in the room’ hardly surfaces when searching for the cause of toxic levels of salt reaching our waterways. But this article clearly exposes the process. Above is a diagram and text below is an extract:

From Roadways to the River

Michigan, like many states in the Northeast and Midwest United States, is a heavy user of rock salt during the winter months to de-ice roads. While salt water has been applied to prevent public roads from freezing since at least Victorian times, the practice was first applied to modern pavement in New Hampshire in 1938. Within three years, industrial spreaders were being used for dry surface salting and gritting with a total of 5,000 tons of salt being spread on highways nationwide. Today, it’s estimated that upwards of 22 million tons of salt are scattered on US roads annually.

The reason road salt works to de-ice roads is pretty simple. Sodium chloride — or NaCl, the ionic compound that makes up both table salt and pure road salt — is very soluble in water. When it dissolves, it breaks apart into two distinct ions (Na+ and Cl-). These particles disrupt water’s ability to form crystalline ice, lowering the freezing point in proportion to the number of ions floating around. This keeps going until the salt concentration hits about 25%, at which point the freezing temperature of the solution cannot go any lower. Different ionic compounds can be used (calcium chloride is a popular choice when it’s too cold out for sodium chloride to do its thing effectively!), but rock salt has proven cheap and readily available. While this is great for improving driving conditions, it’s unfortunately not so great for the environment.Rock salt is loaded at a facility near Detroit, Michigan; the city has its own rock salt mine. PHOTOGRAPH BY PAUL SANCYA, AP. Via National Geographic.

Rock salt is loaded at a facility near Detroit, Michigan; the city has its own rock salt mine. PHOTOGRAPH BY PAUL SANCYA, AP. Via National Geographic.

When salt is on the road, birds often mistake the crystals for seeds or grit, resulting in toxicosis and death. Deer are also attracted to roads to eat the salt crystals, leading to higher incidents of vehicular accidents and wildlife kills. As warmer temperatures arrive and snow begins to melt, salt splashes and sprays off to the side of the road, entering the soil. Through ion exchange, sodium (Na+) stays within the soil and releases other ions such as Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), and Potassium (K) into the groundwater, damaging foliage. Runoff washes down storm drains and into reservoirs, endangering sensitive aquatic communities and reducing species diversity.

Although road salt pollution is usually a bigger issue for the surrounding environment and (non-human) organisms that live in it, it can become a real problem for human beings when it comes up against our infrastructure. Chloride (Cl-) from dissolved salt accelerates corrosion, eating away at bridges, power line utilities and parking garage structures — or in the case of Flint, the plumbing that carries their drinking water.

Many countries in the Northern Hemisphere suffer from snowfall and ice which cause many threats to the economy, car crashes, transportation issues of all kinds and danger to life. The cheapness of rock salt to make life easier and safer has been an attractive solution. But now we see we have an anthropogenic action which has caused major crises to our infrastructure, our water supplies and the health of our environment in general.

The ‘best’ sources of quality rock salt production are found in China and the US. Many countries export rock salt, but do not need it themselves, such as Egypt. Germany and Austria have the longest history of salt production. Quebec and Ontario in Canada are big producers. Some countries in South America, such as Brazil are also producers of rock salt. It is a big earner.

A seller of rock salt provides an idea of costs when wishing to procure some for home or city wide use. It may be a country with a high need can produce its own supply, such as Canada. Here in Scotland, where there can be a reasonably high need in winter, there are companies who provide rock salt who compete for contracts with local councils. Here is an example in the UK.

It is about time we phased out the use of rock salt. I realise the loss of income to some economies will be a problem, but it is like supplying arsenic to kill ourselves.

People are trying to address the problem. Read here for example:

Why You Should Consider Using Rock Salt Alternatives

It’s true that millions of tons of rock salt are used each year, but that doesn’t mean that it should be the first item you reach for when looking for a way to improve safety around your home or business.

There are many other products that are even faster acting and more efficient at breaking down snow and ice than traditional rock salt. Because they work so quickly, less of the material is actually needed, leaving less of a footprint on the environment and saving you money.

Even when these other options are combined with rock salt you will be making a positive impact.

But these alternatives have problems all of their own. States in America are trying to find alternatives as the understanding of the disastrous use of rock salt is made apparent on a daily basis.

North America is trying here, but we are a long way from a world wide solution.

Few cities anywhere in the country have as challenging a confluence of winter conditions as Duluth, where steep hills, heavy snowfalls and lake-effect wind and moisture test road maintenance crews.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation has been experimenting with potassium acetate as an alternative to road salt on some of the area’s most heavily used bridges, tunnels and traffic routes near downtown Duluth.

Chris Cheney, maintenance operations superintendent for the department’s Duluth district, said the chemical has shown some promise. It’s better at melting ice in cold temperatures, he said. Salt isn’t effective at melting ice when the temperature falls below about 15 degrees.

Potassium acetate is a liquid solution and costs about three times as much as road salt, Cheney said. But crews are using much less of it than they do road salt, so the cost ends up being about the same, he said.

The environmental impacts of potassium acetate are still unclear. Unlike chloride, the chemical eventually breaks down in the environment, Asleson said, but lab tests have shown it’s toxic to aquatic insects. She said more research is needed.

Connie Fortin, a consultant who trains maintenance crews on smart salting techniques, said there’s no “silver-bullet” de-icer that will replace road salt.

“I think our biggest savings will be in just waste reduction,” Fortin said. “So don’t overapply. Apply it so that it stays on the road.”

We spend billions landing the Rover on Mars, but we cannot allocate appropriate amounts to this urgent problem which has been highlighted by the Flint unfolding story.

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Will we be Fishless?: Part VII

Posted on March 11, 2021 by borderslynn

Humans rate water as to how safe it is to drink. The World Health Organization has defined what that means.

If we read their document we learn about the importance of a chloride safe balance. Because we still have lead pipes from the industrial era of the 19th and 20th century, we have realised, too late, that salt can corrode these pipes and thus cause leakages.

Chloride increases the electrical conductivity of water and thus increases its corrosivity. In metal pipes, chloride reacts with metal ions to form soluble salts (8), thus increasing levels of metals in drinking-water.

An example of negligence leading to serious health harm happened not too long ago in Flint, Michigan, USA.

In a research paper we find:

The chemistry of Flint River water was known to be highly corrosive to lead plumbing as well as iron pipe due to its high chloride content, which was about eight times higher than the chloride content in the DWSD water. 

But what of the fish in the Flint River?

In 2018, Michigan government produced this advice:

Michigan releases updated fish consumption guidelines relating to PFAS in Lake St. Clair, Flint River

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 3, 2018

CONTACT: Lynn Sutfin, 517-241-2112

LANSING, Mich. – As part of the State of Michigan’s effort to address the emerging contaminant, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has issued Eat Safe Fish guidelines for fish caught from Lake St. Clair and the Flint River in Genesee, Lapeer and Saginaw counties.

Fish in Lake St. Clair were tested as a result of the state’s PFAS effort, but guidelines have been set as a result of elevated levels of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and/or mercury. Guidelines have previously existed for Lake St. Clair relating to mercury, PCBs and dioxins. While there are three municipal drinking water intakes in Lake St. Clair, they were found to have detectable but very low levels of PFOS, well below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Lifetime Health Advisory Level of 70 parts per trillion.

Although Flint River fish consumption guidelines have been in place since 1993 for mercury and PCBs, PFOS was first included for fish in 2015 in the Flint River. Additional fish were collected from the Flint River in 2016 and analyzed in 2017 resulting in updated guidance. The Flint River is not a source of drinking water.

The Eat Safe Fish guidelines are set to be protective for everyone including children and pregnant and breastfeeding women. They are also set to be protective for people with existing health problems such as cancer or diabetes. Eat Safe Fish guidelines are provided as MI Servings. One MI Serving for adults is 6-8 ounces of fish (about the size of an adult’s hand). For children, one MI Serving is 2-4 ounces of fish (about the size of an adult’s palm).

The Limited MI Serving category is a special guideline used to describe fish that should only be eaten once or twice per year, at most, due to higher levels of chemicals. However, people who are under the age of 15; have health problems, such as cancer or diabetes; are planning on having children in the next several years; or are breastfeeding, should avoid eating all fish listed as Limited. The 2x indicates the number of MI Servings can be doubled when fat is cleaned away and fish is cooked so more fat can drip away.

But the Flint River remains a favourite fishing spot it would seem.

The scandal of the negligence of the water treatment company causing a devastating impact on the local population seems to not have influenced the sport of fishing in the Flint River.

Yet, doctors found high levels of lead in the blood of children in 2015 and alerted the authorities. Perhaps that lead has already damaged the brains of those who continue to consume fish caught in the Flint River. They cannot have missed the intensity of global coverage of this infamous situation occurring in the United States of America.

This crisis should be a warning to all of us to assess the state of our drinking water and trace it back to the water sources from which we draw it. We must look at the infrastructure and give priority to the design and implementation of keeping our rivers safe. That is no small order, but we MUST put it to the top of our list.

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Will we be Fishless?: VI

Posted on March 7, 2021 by borderslynn

How Fish are Exposed to Pesticides

Fish and aquatic animals are exposed to pesticides in three primary ways (1) dermally, direct absorption through the skin by swimming in pesticide-contaminated waters, (2) breathing, by direct uptake of pesticides through the gills during respiration, and (3) orally, by drinking pesticide-contaminated water or feeding on pesticide-contaminated prey. Poisoning by consuming another animal that has been poisoned by a pesticide is termed “secondary poisoning.” For example, fish feeding on dying insects poisoned by insecticides may themselves be killed if the insects they consume contain large quantities of pesticides or their toxic byproducts.

The above is taken from a useful document.

Farming practices are controlled in some countries and less regulated in others. Sales of pesticides are worldwide. Responsible use requires education and understanding of environmental consequences. Some governments lack concerns, economic prosperity is linked to turning a blind eye to often devastating consequences for wildlife and soil health.

.……..any additional phosphorus applied to the land will run off into waterways, where it is a known cause of harmful algal blooms and deoxygenation leading to fish death.

……..as the use of glyphosate increases — the past two decades alone have seen global use increase 15-fold — the herbicide’s relatively small phosphorus content starts to add up, reaching levels comparable to other sources, like detergents, that have attracted regulators’ attention in the past.

This new study argues that the recent and rapid rise in glyphosate use has magnified its relative importance as a source of anthropogenic phosphorus, especially in areas of intensive corn, soybean and cotton cultivation

And from a 2014 article, an awareness of the tiny creatures we are not all aware of that fill the living underwater environment:

Little “Bugs” Can Spread Big Pollution Through Contaminated Rivers

APRIL 10, 2014 —

When we think of natural resources harmed by pesticides, toxic chemicals, and oil spills, most of us probably envision soaring birds or adorable river otters. Some of us may consider creatures below the water’s surface, like the salmon and other fish that the more charismatic animals eat, and that we like to eat ourselves. But it’s rare that we spend much time imagining what contamination means for the smaller organisms that we don’t see, or can’t see without a microscope. The tiny creatures that live in the “benthos”—the mud, sand, and stones at the bottoms of rivers—are called benthic macroinvertebrates. Sometimes mistakenly called “bugs,” the benthic macroinvertebrate community actually includes a variety of animals like snails, clams, and worms, in addition to insects like mayflies, caddisflies, and midges. They play several important roles in an ecosystem. They help cycle and filter nutrients and they are a major food source for fish and other animals. Though we don’t see them often, benthic macroinvertebrates play an extremely important role in river ecosystems. In polluted rivers, such as the lower 10 miles of the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, these creatures serve as food web pathways for legacy contaminants like PCBs and DDT. Because benthic macroinvertebrates live and feed in close contact with contaminated muck, they are prone to accumulation of contaminants in their bodies. They are, in turn, eaten by predators and it is in this way that contaminants move “up” through the food web to larger, more easily recognizable animals such as sturgeon, mink, and bald eagles. The image below depicts some of the pathways that contaminants follow as they move up through the food web in Oregon’s Portland Harbor. Benthic macroinvertebrates are at the bottom of the food web. They are eaten by larger animals, like salmon, sturgeon, and bass. Those fish are then eaten by birds (like osprey and eagle), mammals (like mink), and people.

Some of the macroinvertebrates which live in the Benthos

An excellent presentation of river wildlife is here. The above illustration is from the pages.

We can all play our part in working toward ensuring our rivers are cherished and all the life that lives within is healthy and untainted.

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Will we be Fishless?: Part V

Posted on March 6, 2021 by borderslynn

A recent study has illustrated that even Mother Nature with her volcanoes (there are approximately 1,500 known, active volcanoes worldwide) is adding higher levels of mercury than she has to date. There are an unknown number of volcanoes on the ocean floor.

Mercury is a toxic, trace metal that bioaccumulates with a long atmospheric life cycle. Volcanic mercury exists as gas, as well as particulate matter. Volcanoes are the only natural sources of direct mercury emission into the troposphere and stratosphere, and are the principal natural sources of reactive and particulate mercury in the soil and water.

The researcher suggests that if you are living near volcanic ash you try and get a reading off a hair sample to be sure you have not absorbed the mercury internally.

We have been aware, through the news, of recent Mount Etna eruptions, producing amazing visuals. Scientist have measured 2 tons of mercury in the resultant gas production.

When this element makes its way into the ocean, it becomes highly reactive with organic matter and is readily taken up by phytoplankton, which mollusks then eat.

The WHO, in their fact sheet, say:

Key facts

  • Mercury is a naturally occurring element that is found in air, water and soil.
  • Exposure to mercury – even small amounts – may cause serious health problems, and is a threat to the development of the child in utero and early in life.
  • Mercury may have toxic effects on the nervous, digestive and immune systems, and on lungs, kidneys, skin and eyes.
  • Mercury is considered by WHO as one of the top ten chemicals or groups of chemicals of major public health concern.
  • People are mainly exposed to methylmercury, an organic compound, when they eat fish and shellfish that contain the compound.
  • Methylmercury is very different to ethylmercury. Ethylmercury is used as a preservative in some vaccines and does not pose a health risk.

The WHO goes on to say:

Generally, two groups are more sensitive to the effects of mercury. Foetuses are most susceptible to developmental effects due to mercury. Methylmercury exposure in the womb can result from a mother’s consumption of fish and shellfish. It can adversely affect a baby’s growing brain and nervous system. The primary health effect of methylmercury is impaired neurological development. Therefore, cognitive thinking, memory, attention, language, and fine motor and visual spatial skills may be affected in children who were exposed to methylmercury as foetuses.

The second group is people who are regularly exposed (chronic exposure) to high levels of mercury (such as populations that rely on subsistence fishing or people who are occupationally exposed). Among selected subsistence fishing populations, between 1.5/1000 and 17/1000 children showed cognitive impairment (mild mental retardation) caused by the consumption of fish containing mercury. These included populations in Brazil, Canada, China, Columbia and Greenland.

A significant example of mercury exposure affecting public health occurred in Minamata, Japan, between 1932 and 1968, where a factory producing acetic acid discharged waste liquid into Minamata Bay. The discharge included high concentrations of methylmercury. The bay was rich in fish and shellfish, providing the main livelihood for local residents and fishermen from other areas.

For many years, no one realised that the fish were contaminated with mercury, and that it was causing a strange disease in the local community and in other districts. At least 50 000 people were affected to some extent and more than 2000 cases of Minamata disease were certified. Minamata disease peaked in the 1950s, with severe cases suffering brain damage, paralysis, incoherent speech and delirium.

Note: Acetic acid, systematically named ethanoic acid, is a colourless liquid organic compound with the chemical formula CH₃COOH. When undiluted, it is sometimes called glacial acetic acid. Vinegar is no less than 4% acetic acid by volume, making acetic acid the main component of vinegar apart from water

Since coal naturally contains mercury, it is released when we burn it. But, according to an article in Forbes, 2015, we do not need to worry about how much mercury we release when burning it to generate electricity as it releases only small amounts of mercury–far less than natural sources of mercury such as volcanoes, wildfires, dust and the oceans.

This article states:

Mercury, like any substance, is toxic in certain forms and doses and harmless in others. The form of mercury that is of particular concern to human health is called methylmercury (or monomethylmercury), a combination of mercury, carbon and hydrogen. Discussions of “mercury poisoning” are misleading, because mercury only becomes methylmercury under certain conditions, and methylmercury can only be absorbed by human beings in relevant quantities under certain conditions (for example, the element Selenium seems to prevent the absorption of methylmercury).

The main reason we are closing coal burning power stations and trying to reduce burning coal generally is, as most of us know, due to CO2 emissions;

 ………...prior to the Industrial Revolution, emissions were very low. Growth in emissions was still relatively slow until the mid-20th century. In 1950 the world emitted just over 5 billion tonnes of (CO2) – about the same as the US, or half of China’s annual emissions today.

By 1990 this had quadrupled to 22 billion tonnes. Emissions have continued to grow rapidly; we now emit over 36 billion tonnes each year.

Emissions growth has slowed over the last few years, but they have yet to reach their peak.

The risk of mercury poisoning (exampled in the Minamata instance) are described in this article:

They explain humans can consume too much mercury in foods. That is why we must limit our intake of fish now we know some fish contain more than others. Pregnant humans must be particularly careful. The food chain may also have higher mercury levels where toxic fish have become fishmeal for use in animal feeds. See

The analytical approach employed with Hydra-C is supported by EPA Method 7473 which is approved for both laboratory and field analysis for mercury in solids and liquids using Thermal Decomposition Amalgamation and Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy.
Typical applications of the Hydra-C Mercury Analyzer are:  Animal Tissues, Tobacco, Food byproducts, Marine Tissues and Vegetation.

……..Fish get mercury from the water they live in. All types of fish contain some amount of mercury. Larger types of fish can have higher amounts of mercury because they prey on other fish that have mercury too.

Sharks and swordfish are among the most common of these. Bigeye tuna, marlin, and king mackerel also contain high levels of mercury.

It’s also possible to develop mercury poisoning from eating too much seafood. In small amounts, the following types of fish are okay to eat once or twice per week:

  • albacore tuna
  • anchovies
  • catfish
  • grouper
  • pollock
  • salmon
  • shrimp
  • snapper

Though these options contain less mercury overall, you’ll want to take care in how much you eat.

What we eat, and how we eat, can be a major factor in determining everyday interactions such as with vinegar:

The “recycling” of anthropogenic mercury also raises levels of mercury in the environment. Recycling takes place when mercury in water volatizes and contributes to the increase of atmospheric mercury concentrations.

In 1995, it was estimated that forty percent (32 metric tons (t)) of mercury deposited form the air onto U.S. water and soil came from the global mercury reservoir. The other sixty percent came from anthropogenic sources in the U.S. There is uncertainty at this time as to how long some forms of mercury persist in the atmosphere.

In the past, mining was a substantial source of mercury in some areas. For example, the hydraulic placer-gold mines of the Sierra Nevadas released several thousand tons of mercury to the environment from the 1860s to the early 1900s. The U.S Geological Survey (USGS) believes that high levels of mercury in fish, amphibians, and invertebrates downstream of hydraulic mines are a result of historic mercury use.eu

Hydraulic placer-gold mining

This technique has poisoned fish in rivers ever since the Romans learned to apply it after seeing their conquered European tribes carrying it out. So humans have been causing mercury poisoning into rivers and seas ever since.

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Will we be Fishless?: Part IV

Posted on March 4, 2021 by borderslynn

Whatever we humans do to counteract something which is troublesome, we seem to end up in a cycle of harm which we never intended.

Glasgow’s main river is the Clyde. Glasgow has been the location for heavy industries since the start of the industrial revolution. The population live with harmful pollution.

This is an extract from a news article:

“Poisons in the ground dumped by a former chemical factory are leaking into the river and urgent action is required, a regeneration agency has said.

Cancer-causing chromium-VI has been found flowing into the river, especially when it rains, from the site of the former Shawfield Chemical Works that has been closed for more than 50 years.

Contaminated land under Clydeside poses an immediate risk to human health because of toxic waste leaking into the River Clyde, politicians have been warned.”

The story of the aforementioned industrialist dynasty is here. As with all inventions during this age of invention, the White family flourished and became wealthy and highly respected. Throughout Britain their story can be replicated amongst many rags to riches industrialist endeavours. They did not know or understand anything other than the perceived benefits to mankind, not the future painful deaths caused by the contamination their works left as a legacy. We know better now, or we should. We have no excuse for such ignorance.

The Upper Clyde is so contaminated that fish can only be caught in sections of the lower Clyde. Atlantic Salmon were once plentiful:

“Current status
The River Clyde and its tributaries cover a large catchment area, and support a substantial
Brown Trout fishery. They were also known for large numbers of migratory Sea Trout
and Atlantic Salmon, but many decades of pollution from local heavy industries
eliminated these fish from the upper Clyde system. With the decline of heavy industry
and the introduction and enforcement of legislation to improve the environment the
Atlantic Salmon has returned to the river. The following plan, whilst largely concerned
with Atlantic Salmon will also serve to facilitate the Sea Trout (Salmo trutta).


The Atlantic Salmon has, over the last 30 years, re-colonised parts of the Clyde catchment
in increasing numbers, due to improvements in water quality and environmental
management work. Whilst declining Atlantic Salmon stocks in northern Europe and
North America are cause for international concern, in the Clyde catchment there has
been an increase in the numbers being reported. Most river habitats are used but
salmon require clean headwater streams with suitable grades of gravel bed for successful
spawning which takes place mainly in the autumn and early winter. There do not
appear to be any spawning grounds reported within the Glasgow City area.”

From the World History Project:

On 13th March, 1941, 236 Luftwaffe bombers attacked targets in the Clydebank area.

These included the shipyards, Dalnottar tank farm and large factories which were involved in making munitions, such as Singer’s Sewing Machine factory.

On 14th March, 1941, 203 bombers returned. This time they also attacked targets in the Glasgow area where there were shipyards and the important aero engine factory, Rolls Royce, in Hillington Industrial Estate.

During two devastating Luftwaffe air raids in 1941, the town of Clydebank in Scotland was largely destroyed. Over two nights, the 13th and 14th of March, the town suffered the worst destruction and civilian loss of life in all of Scotland. 528 people died, 617 people were seriously injured, and hundreds more were injured by blast debris.

Out of approximately 12,000 houses, only seven remained undamaged — with 4,000 completely destroyed and 4,500 severely damaged. Over 35,000 people were made homeless.

Clydebank’s production of ships and munitions for the Allies made it a target (similar to the Barrow Blitz). A total of 439 bombers dropped over 1,000 bombs. RAF fighters managed to shoot down two aircraft during the raid, but none were brought down by anti-aircraft fire.

Many wars have taken place around the world since WWII. Every weapon used leaves contamination. Unexploded devices continue to be found. The more wars, the more the contamination. Many Military areas used for training purposes leave contaminated land, rivers, seas and oceans. World Peace is a far off dream, ever receding. Contamination is ever increasing.

Troops ordered to clean up old weapons get personally contaminated.

During the Iraq war, American soldiers were unknowingly exposed to old chemical weapons long abandoned by Saddam Hussein’s regime. The story of the troops who were injured trying dismantle the contaminated weapons has been kept secret until now. Judy Woodruff learns more from C.J. Chivers of The New York Times about his investigation.

Knowing who owns land in Scotland would help us track and trace uses and abuses of this beautiful country. But land ownership details have long since become hidden from the enquiring mind and even campaigners have not yet been successful:

The public deserve access to information about who owns Scotland. It’s time to end the secrecy and the costs and open up all information (environmental, planning, valuation, tenure, ownership) in an accessible manner which is free and easy to use by the citizen.

Over the coming months, I invite those with an interest to join me in campaigning for greater transparency and openness in land information. Contact me at andy.wightman.msp@parliament.scot

Knowing who owns the land, seas, oceans, rivers on this Planet is of interest. Do the owners buy land in order to exploit it when they invest? Do they buy it to clean it up? What do you think?

Here in Scotland we have plenty of rivers and lakes, whose beauty renowned the world over. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency keeps residents informed of the quality of water in the country. Here is an extract from their quality indicator page:

“Prior to the rapid urbanisation of the 1800’s, Scotland’s rivers were of very good quality. The deterioration of river water quality throughout the 19th and 20th centuries was mainly caused by the discharge of sewage and changes in agricultural and industrial practices which accompanied the economic lifestyle of the time. Significant efforts to restore Scotland’s rivers did not occur until 1965. Reductions in heavy industry, the enforcement of new legislation and heightened environmental awareness have all contributed to improvements in river quality.

Between 1992 and 2011, the proportion of river length for which river quality could not be calculated fell from 6.2% to 0%.  Most of these water bodies were subsequently classed as unpolluted or unimpacted by pollution.

The proportion of river length that was classed as slightly polluted, polluted or severely polluted in Scotland rose from 6.8% in 1992, to 7.4% in 1998, before falling to 2.3% in 2012 and then rising to 3.4% in 2013.  The main drivers of slightly polluted, polluted and severely polluted rivers are inputs of nutrients, leading to degraded biological and nutrient quality.

In light of increasing data and understanding about environmental pressures and ecological impact, two of the Water Framework Directive standards used in the indicator calculation were changed in 2013.  These were invertebrates and phosphorus.  In 2013, the indicator was calculated with both the old and the new standards in order that a comparison could be made. The proportion of river length assessed as slightly polluted, polluted or severely polluted in 2013 was 3.4% using the old standards and 3.7% using the new standards.

From 2014 data was calculated with just the new standards.

In 2018, the proportion of river length classed as slightly polluted, polluted or severely polluted was 3%.

Most of us who have a pet use flea and tick treatment to protect us from serious illness those insects could inflict on us. These are pesticides and now recent studies of English rivers has found there is major detrimental harm being done as we speak, to the vital food chain of insect life in our rivers.

Below is a link to the recent study:

Highlights

Environmental impact of pesticides used in veterinary flea treatments largely unknown

Analysis of potential sources of fiprole and imidacloprid in English rivers

Comparison of Environment Agency water monitoring data with reported toxicity limits

Sewage works indicated as a possible route to rivers for fiproles and imidacloprid

Veterinary flea products are a potential source of pollution and ecosystem harm

Researchers are studying rivers because we can see with our eyes they are not as healthy as they were, carrying algae from phosphates or when tested, carrying dangerous toxins from our homes and businesses. In New Zealand, a study found 60% of rivers were too dangerous to swim in due to the harmful chemicals analysed, so what chance does aquatic life have? The answer is a resounding ZERO!

Stopping phosphate pollution isn’t easy, because phosphate isn’t just in fertiliser, in fact runoff from farmland contributes only around a quarter of phosphate in rivers, and farmers have been working hard with support from Catchment Sensitive Farming Advisors from ARK and Natural England to reduce the loss of fertilisers and soils from their land.


The remainder comes from waste water generated by our homes and businesses.  There have been significant improvements in waste water treatment standards, but phosphate can’t easily be removed at all water treatment works. 


Along the Kennet, many of the larger sewage treatment works do have phosphate stripping technology to reduce the amount of phosphate in effluent, but the village works don’t have this benefit. What is more, private systems like septic tanks can’t remove phosphate at all, they discharge phosphate-rich effluent directly into the environment.

What can we do to help?

Every householder can easily help to make a difference – phosphates used in domestic cleaning products account for nearly a fifth of the phosphate in our waste water. 

So some selective shopping can prevent this chemical being discharged into our rivers.

Many cleaning products have a high phosphate content, despite changes in legislation to reduce levels in laundry detergent.  Dishwasher detergents are a particular culprit with some containing over a third by weight, but low-phosphate alternatives are available – aim for those containing 5% or less.

We all may want to help Mother Nature recover from our abuses. We can play our part by enquiry; use information to influence our choices when buying goods and products manufactured with her health in mind.

We can also choose careers which will not promote harm to her. We can carry out activities which lessen the danger to her. We can teach our children how to respect her.

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Will we be Fishless?: Part III

Posted on March 3, 2021 by borderslynn

Discovered in the 1920s, antibiotics have saved tens of millions of lives from pneumonia, tuberculosis, meningitis and a host of deadly bacteria.

But, as with all things we do as humans, we get in the habit of overdoing everything. Overuse and misuse of drugs are thought to be the main causes of antimicrobial resistance. A large number of drugs found in the environment — analgesics, antibiotics, anti-platelet agents, hormones, psychiatric drugs, anti-histamines — have been detected in nature at levels dangerous for wildlife.

Endocrine disruptors, for examples, have notoriously induced sex changes in fish and amphibians.

A report presented in 2019 at a two-day annual meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry showed the World’s rivers were ‘loaded with antibiotics waste’. The extent of the pollution exceeds environmental safety thresholds by up to 300 times. Scientists had found one or more common antibiotics in two-thirds of 711 samples taken from rivers in 72 countries

In dozens of locations, concentrations of the drugs — used to fight off bacterial infection in people and livestock — exceeded safety levels set by the AMR Industry Alliance, a grouping of more than 100 biotech and pharmaceutical companies.

Ciprofloxacin, a frontline treatment for intestinal and urinary tract infections, surpassed the industry threshold at 51 of the sites tested.

At one location in Bangladesh, concentrations of another widely used antibiotic, metronidazole, were 300 times above the limit, the researchers said.

Ciprofloxacin, a frontline treatment for intestinal and urinary tract infections, surpassed the industry threshold at 51 of the sites tested.

At one location in Bangladesh, concentrations of another widely used antibiotic, metronidazole, were 300 times above the limit, the researchers said.

“The results are quite eye opening and worrying, demonstrating the widespread contamination of river systems around the world with antibiotic compounds,” Alistair Boxall, a scientist at the York environmental Sustainability Institute, said in a statement.

The countries with the highest levels of antibiotic river pollution were Bangladesh, Kenya, Ghana, Pakistan and Nigeria.

Within Europe, one site in Austria had the biggest concentrations anywhere on the continent.

Frozen water samples were collected from the Danube, Mekong, Seine, Thames, Tigris, Chao Phraya and dozens of other rivers.

“Until now, the majority of environmental monitoring work for antibiotics has been done in Europe, North America and China,” said co-author John Wilkinson, also from the University of York, where the samples were examined.

In North America,

“Sulfamethoxazole in the Environment

SMX is a sulfonamide antibiotic that is commonly used to treat a variety of bacterial infections. Previous studies have documented that SMX is a contaminant in both U. S. streams and groundwater, and that wastewater treatment plants and septic tanks are sources of antibiotics to the environment. Although SMX has been shown to degrade in streams, groundwater may be particularly vulnerable to the persistence of SMX. The natural attenuation of SMX in groundwater appears to be constrained due to the absence of photodegradation by sunlight when compared to natural attenuation of SMX in streams.”

(Credit: Vicki Blazer, USGS National Fish Health Research Laboratory. Public domain.).

The above photo of Microscopic appearance of normal and melanistic skin in fish from Chesapeake Bay watershed US, was taken:JANUARY 22, 2021

In 2015, the above lakh fish were released into Gandigudem Lake and in 2017 they died from toxins.

“Notably, these fish were released into the lake a couple of years ago, as part of cultivation programme, and most of the fish were Rohu that weighed up to 10 kg. Telangana State Pollution Control Board has however advised all the fishermen to not to sell the dead fish in the market as it carries the toxic pollutants and is not fit for human consumption. The bloated fish bodies that got washed ashore are now rotting and gradually decomposing, and the stench of the same can be detected from about 500 meters. The residents living in and around the lake were in for a shock as they found the fish heaped around, raising unbearable stink.

As part of the investigation process, the Telangana State Pollution Control Board along with the Hyderabad Police have also collected the samples of water and fish from the channels connecting the industrial units with the 266-acre water body.”

Indians are subjected to Big Pharma pollution in the intensive pharmaceutical industrial areas which dispose of their waste into main arterial rivers such as the Ganges.

Researchers from Doon University, Dehra Dun, India, have reported the presence of 15 pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) in the Ganges near two Hindu pilgrimage cities. These pollutants include caffeine, anti-inflammatory drugs, common antibiotics, beta blockers, antibacterials, and insect repellents………

PPCP concentrations near the cities varied, with the highest measured concentration being 1,104.84 nanograms per liter. Researchers found higher PPCP concentrations at the lower, more populated reaches of the river. The concentrations, especially of anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics, were also higher in winter, possibly because of decreased biodegradation associated with lower temperatures and inadequate sunlight, the report said. The study also showed that PPCPs in the region were associated with a higher risk of algal blooms and a moderate risk to the health of river fish…….

In 2020, Balakrishna’s team reported the presence of PPCPs in two tropical rivers in southwestern India, the Swarna and Netravati, which empty into the Arabian Sea……..

The new Ganges research also echoes recent studies tracing PPCPs on European glaciers, where researchers traced chemical pollutants to the use of perfumes in personal care products like soap. Perfumed soaps and ointments are also associated with PPCPs in Haridwar and Rishikesh, where mass bathing events are part of tourism and pilgrimage activities.

The above extracts originally appeared in American Geophysical Union 

Pharma companies in India are growing rapidly. India has an important contribution to the pharma sector. The country is one of the largest providers of generic drugs in the world.

As per the last recent report, about 80 per cent of the antiretroviral drugs used globally to fight AIDS are supplied by Indian pharma companies.

Hyderabad city of India holds a monopoly market in the Indian pharmaceutical industry. The city ranks first in the manufacturing of bulk drugs.

Pharma companies in Hyderabad produce the most amounts of therapeutic drugs. It accounts for 40 percent of the total Indian bulk drug.

Nearly, 50 percent of the bulk drug is exported to foreign countries which includes the UK and the US. Thus, the city is recognized as the ‘Bulk Drug Capital of India’.

We all owe much to the powerhouse of drug production in India. But the people of India are not being protected from harmful waste from the Pharma industry. There should be an inbuilt cost of the highest quality protections so no dangerous waste reaches the once beautiful waters of India, then spread their harm to the rest of the world via the seas and oceans. The evidence is dead or mutated fish.

2022 see current research.

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Will we be Fishless soon?: Part II

Posted on February 28, 2021 by borderslynn

I often see livestock standing happily in rivers and streams. They are innocent, the farmers are not. We learned centuries ago that livestock, particulary dead livestock, in water courses leads to contamination of all water which was once running pure in rivers, streams and freshwater lakes..A sign is dead fish or no fish in water courses.

“The excreta (faeces and urine) of mammals and birds are widespread across planet Earth and frequently contaminate water that is used for bathing and recreation, that is treated and distributed for human consumption, and that is used to irrigate crops. The risk that such contamination represents to human health is inadequately understood. It is widely assumed that faeces of animals represents a lesser risk to human health than human faeces because of the ‘species barrier’ and especially the species-specificity of most viruses………Rivers and streams deliver faecal wastes (and the zoonotic pathogens they may contain) to surface water bodies used for recreation, commercial shellfish harvesting and as sources of drinking-water. The transport of faecal material and the fate of zoonotic pathogens in a catchment is not understood with a great degree of certainty.” ¹

“While many bacteria occur naturally in the environment and are an important component of many ecosystem processes, some are of concern because they may cause diseases. These bacteria (E.coli 0157:H7, Salmonella, etc.), as well as viruses (enteroviruses, adenoviruses, etc.) and some protozoans (Cryptosporidium, Giardia, etc.), are referred to as pathogens. Most are found in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and other warm-blooded animals and are shed in the faeces. One type of bacteria found in the intestines and faeces is Escherichia coli. Most people refer to it as E. coli. It is an important type of faecal coliform bacteria that can help prevent the growth of harmful bacteria within the intestines. ……..as E. coli concentrations increase in surface waters, it is likely that some type of faecal contamination has occurred. When the concentrations exceed water quality standards, people are at a greater risk of coming in contact with pathogens. The most common illness associated with exposure (swimming, ingestion) to faecal contaminated water is gastroenteritis, which can result in nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, fever, headache, and diarrhea. Swimming in impacted waters can also lead to eye, ear, nose, skin, and throat infections and respiratory illnesses. In rarer cases, contaminated waters can lead to more serious conditions such as hepatitis, salmonellosis, or dysentery.” ²

Farmers know:

To –

Keep livestock out of watercourses to reduce bacterial contamination.

Do not intensively graze adjacent to rivers and streams, particularly in the winter or during wet conditions.

Do not feed livestock near watercourses and move feeding sites regularly to reduce poaching.

Do not locate manure heaps where there is a risk of run-off polluting water.

Streams may be on a smaller scale than rivers but the principles are the same and there may be greater opportunities for livestock to access, and contaminate, the water.

Land managers (farmers) know this. We all see water runs off land and flows eventually to the sea. On its way it carries any pollution and living things downstream will ingest the toxins.

Contents of septic tanks are often sprayed on to ploughed fields as fertilisers. I have felt gassed by the odour when this is done on fields near where I have lived. Sewage is meant to be collected by special vehicles which take it to a treatment plant; however, this is expensive and unlikely to be paid for by many farmers, but it should be mandatory and funding applied to support them to do this if they are subsistence farmers.

Where people live, cheek by jowl, due to poverty forcing them into shanty town existences, there is no sanitation and sewage flows along gutters, mixes with mud after heavy rain, flows into streams and rivers and contaminates whole areas. We often see images of flooded homes these days as rains fall more heavily and unexpectedly due to climate change. Anyone caught in flood waters knows how disgusting that water is if it enters homes and lies on farmland.

An immediate clear up after severe flooding is vital to prevent disease. A thorough clean up, restoring safe and hygienic surroundings for all living things. Flood prevention measures must be funded and environmental studies carried out to prevent being overwhelmed in future.

South Africa

Nature cannot rectify the balance if we have poisoned the water. Diseases become rampant. There is a high mortality rate due to intestinal illness. Children rarely reach 5 years old. We allow shanty towns to grow on the edge of impressive cities, where people are discarded just as the waste piles up around them, contrasting with the affluent in the cities with shiny, sanitised, lifestyles..

Skid Row, Los Angeles, USA

Back in 2017 there was an item in an Indian newspaper detailing the lack of care and diligence by those who lived in a gated community as to their responsibilty for the health of a main river and its stocks of fish nearby.

This is not an exceptional narrative. It is all too common.

Within the European Union laws have been made which all states are expected to implement. But, for many reasons, not all do.

The legal requirements for treating wastewater were set out in May 1991 in The Council Directive 91/271/EEC concerning urban wastewater treatment . All member states within the European Union are obliged to follow the directive for treating wastewater, and when countries fail to comply, they can receive court action and or fines all of which we have seen in recent years.

Within the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency attempts to regulate for treating wastewater, here is an extract:

The Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1972 and its amendments govern water pollution in the United States and are central to EPA’s mission to protect public health and the environment.

Section 405(d) of the CWA requires EPA to:

  • Establish numeric limits and management practices that protect public health and the environment from the reasonably anticipated adverse effects of chemical and microbial pollutants during the use or disposal of sewage sludge.
  • Review sewage sludge (biosolids) regulations every two years to identify any additional pollutants that may occur in biosolids, and then set regulations for those pollutants if sufficient scientific evidence shows they may harm human health or the environment.

An article in Slate.com headlined ,

Trump Removes Pollution Protections for America’s Rivers and Streams

BY ELLIOT HANNONJAN 23, 2020 6:27 AM

Governments will go 10 steps forward and 20 steps back. Deregulation is pushing Clean Water Acts into oblivion. We can only expect more disease as a consequence, but also the death of more ecosystems in what were once pristine rivers and lakes.

Despite horrifying visual evidence, as at Biscayne Bay, Miami in 2020 we do not seem to be be making progress to focus on cleaning up our environment any time soon.

Sewage and other waste kill marine life at Biscayne Bay, Miami, 2020

We have been setting up waste water treatment plants for centuries. We know what to do. Yet we are neglecting many areas of this Planet which can only result in killing ourselves with diseases which will overwhelm us.

If we leave toxins to build up anywhere on this beautiful Planet we will cause many more animal extinctions, including our own.

We MUST CLEAN UP OUR MESS NOW, wherever we have caused it. We have the money, don’t say we don’t. Simply re-direct funds from flag ship nonsense 7 star high life living to essential areas which are already well documented and understood.

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Will we be Fishless soon?: Part One

Posted on February 25, 2021 by borderslynn

Most of us owe our existence to fish that swam in abundance in rivers, seas and oceans thousands of years ago.

An aboriginal man hunts in a swamp.  He holds a spear in a woomera and he carries a spare spear and a boomerang.  he has an axe in his belt.
SOURCE: news.softpedia.com

We are now responsible for killing fish to the point of extinction; killing the oceanic life, destroying healthy water courses and tipping the balance of our global ecosystem into a death spiral. We all know that, but we keep on pushing the envelope and none of us work hard enough to end this aggression.

As Homo Sapiens we have constantly wreaked havoc on our Planet in an attempt to emulate the self sufficiency of other animals co-habiting this place. Other species had inbuilt weapons of defence, like claws or poisonous sacs to kill their prey. They had protected skeletal coverings, with fur or armoured plates. They had massive teeth and strong jaws to kill in one bite. They could be lithe and fluid like snakes or leopards. They could fly and soar like eagles, yet their eyesight was so fantastic they could spot their prey from a great height and dive accurately to pick it up and escape to their nest on a rocky mountain. Tiny insects could kill us with diseases like malaria, or poison us with a bite like a scorpion. No, we seem to be an aberration, forever compensating for our poor design. We most likely crawled out of a swamp originally, like all living things. We evolved to where we are now; but we do not fit this magnificent planet. We are a swarming disease upon it.

Everything we have achieved has been hailed by us as a breakthrough to aid our survival. Since the first alchemy success of metallurgy to our cars, ships, trains and planes and ongoing technology. We cannot even clean up our mess effectively.

Early metallurgy and poisoning of our environment

We now know that something catastrophic ended the Bronze Age in Europe and researchers are piecing together what that might be. Here is an extract from one piece of that investigation:

A detailed record of historical lead (Pb) pollution from a peat bog in Serbia provides a unique view on the extent and timing of Balkan mining and metallurgy. Evidence of the earliest European environmental pollution is followed by large-scale and sustained increases in the amount of anthropogenically derived Pb after 600 BCE, through the Roman/Byzantine periods, and into the medieval period. Occasional evidence of drops in pollution output reflects the disruptive socioeconomic impact of periods of turmoil. Our data show a trend significantly different to records in western Europe, where Pb pollution decreases dramatically after the collapse of the Roman Empire. These results suggest metal-rich southeastern Europe should be considered a more major player in environmental metal pollution through time.

The Balkans are considered the birthplace of mineral resource exploitation and metalworking in Europe. However, since knowledge of the timing and extent of metallurgy in southeastern Europe is largely constrained by discontinuous archaeological findings, the long-term environmental impact of past mineral resource exploitation is not fully understood. Here, we present a high-resolution and continuous geochemical record from a peat bog in western Serbia, providing a clear indication of the extent and magnitude of environmental pollution in this region, and a context in which to place archaeological findings. We observe initial evidence of anthropogenic lead (Pb) pollution during the earliest part of the Bronze Age [∼3,600 years before Common Era (BCE)], the earliest such evidence documented in European environmental records. A steady, almost linear increase in Pb concentration after 600 BCE, until ∼1,600 CE is observed, documenting the development in both sophistication and extent of southeastern European metallurgical activity throughout Antiquity and the medieval period. This provides an alternative view on the history of mineral exploitation in Europe, with metal-related pollution not ceasing at the fall of the western Roman Empire, as was the case in western Europe. Further comparison with other Pb pollution records indicates the amount of Pb deposited in the Balkans during the medieval period was, if not greater, at least similar to records located close to western European mining regions, suggestive of the key role the Balkans have played in mineral resource exploitation in Europe over the last 5,600 years.

When we saw dying fish in rivers which we had polluted as a consequence of mining, we must have made the connection then with our activities. Perhaps we simply moved on to a clean, pure place and began our contamination process once again. Over written history, we have reported our habitually repeated mistakes, which is not a sign of a superior intellect.

Our ancestors, who left Africa and moved as small groups of between 20 to 30 people, practised fishing in the main to stay alive. They sought rivers and seashores which were teeming with fish. They used sharpened sticks to spear to fish, stones to smash the head of the fish, and ate them raw. Fish contain goodness which helps our brains to function. Most of us know that goodness is Omega 3. But fish today is contaminated by the consequences of Anthropocene activities, and fish are dying in catastrophic numbers.

This is not news. We have seen warnings for decades.

Factory Fishing:

Trident Seafoods resumes operations at Aleutian plant in Alaska after monthlong COVID-19 shutdown. “The Seattle-based seafood giant halted operations Jan. 21 as the billion-dollar pollock season started and with cod and crab fisheries already underway. Plans to bring in medical supplies — and evacuate at least three sick workers to Anchorage — were complicated by stormy weather that delayed some flights to the Aleutian Islands.”

Dutch supertrawler

Ten supertrawlers, mostly Dutch, arrived in the English Channel, asserting their historic fishing rights, and many stayed for more than three weeks, in unprotected UK waters, prior to Brexit. Marine campaigners protested as such massive ships cause the death of  dolphins, seals and porpoises. Of 18 cetaceans found dead in Sussex since September last year, 15 were recorded when supertrawlers were in the area. The mammals chase the same species of small fish as the supertrawlers catch so are drawn to their nets.

The invasion of supertrawlers, in unprotected waters, and therefore legally allowed, were named by Greenpeace as follows:

ARCTICA – Russian Owned

KAPITAN DEMIDENKO – Russian Owned

KARELIA – Russian Owned

BALTIYSKAYA KOSA – Russian Owned

KAPITAN NAZIN – Russian Owned

ZAMOSKVORECHE – Russian Owned

LIRA – Russian Owned

LAZURNYY – Russian Owned

MAARTJE THEADORA – Dutch Owned

VALERIY DZHAPARIDZE – Russian Owned

NIVENSKOYE – Russian Owned

ANNELIES ILENA – Dutch Owned

YANTARNYY – Russian Owned

KAPITAN SULIMOV – Russian Owned  

KURSHSKAYA KOSA – Russian Owned

WILLEM VAN DER ZWAN – Dutch Owned

NAERABERG – Dutch Owned

AFRIKA – Dutch Owned

FRANK BONEFAAS – Dutch Owned

MEKHANIK SERGEY AGAP – Russian Owned

ZEELAND – Dutch Owned 

HELEN MARY – Dutch Owned

CAROLIEN – Dutch Owned

The factory ships destroy the ecosystems. They exercise brutality as they cut out the ‘by catch’ from their nets. An example would be cutting off the tail of a porpoise and throwing it back in the water. Porpoises drown when trapped in the nets, are cut out and thrown back in the sea. Any tonnage of unwanted fish that is kept might be ground down and used for animal feed. Dead dolphins found washed up on beaches have cut marks on their fins and beaks, caused by cutting them out of the nets.

Fishermen in Dorset have also blamed supertrawlers for “wiping out” fish stocks and killing dolphins, the Dorset Echo reported.

Lloyd Gofton, a Brighton volunteer, said 5,000 dolphin deaths had been recorded in the UK over seven years, up 15 per cent on the previous seven years – but the real death figure was significantly higher because only one in 10 bodies washes up, although not all are caused by factory fleets.

Supertrawlers not only increased the deaths of dolphins, seals and porpoises, but also reduced stocks of their prey fish, he warned.  

Cloaked by the Covid crisis, activities of foreign supertrawlers have caused havoc for the British fishing industry.

Sea Gypsies

There are still humans who fish according to the needs and demand of their local population. They are not wasteful but show respect for the waters where they fish. In our Oceans there remain a small number of sea gypsies who dwell in harmony with the sea.

Bajau child

But deals are done by governments to take the money of corporate fishing businesses to overwhelm the waters near the coasts of poorer countries.

If we slice up the seas and oceans and apply negotiated international fishing rights we end up with supertrawlers casting their massive nets and consequently destroying the fragile ecosystems on which we depend. We humans have no divine right to act as if we own this Planet which has spawned us. We only rule this place in order to destroy it. Even a parasite does not intend to destroy its host.

A single discarded net (and there are thousands left in the oceans and seas) can kill fish over centuries.

Back in 2013 there was a blog on the Chilean overfishing problem, which warned so well of the impending catastrophe caused by irresponsible governments allowing overfishing using supertrawlers.

“What Chilean law sets aside for about 85,000 small-scale fishermen is seldom enough to fill their nets, he explained. So the prospect of a 30-foot-long by 8-foot-wide boat bobbing atop daunting swells in the South Pacific is now a reality for many of Chile’s artisanal fishermen………..The latest government data on fisheries found that over 70 percent of species are overfished, including jack mackerel, hake, sea bass and anchovy.…………Taken as a whole, the downward trend of fish stock in the South Pacific may well signal an alarming harbinger for global fisheries.………….

“It’s true there could be a global concern for the variation in fish stock in Chile and the region because what happens here has repercussions abroad,” said Jorge Toro De Ponte, executive director of IFOP. “Together with Peru, we provide close to 20 percent of the global fish production.”

The permissive fisheries law that allowed for unbridled exploitation can be traced back to 1991 when fish were still abundant and promoting growth was prioritized over environmental concerns. During this period, the Total Allowable Catch system in place sparked a free-for-all, dubbed the “Olympic Race.” A frenetic arms race ensued, characterized by rapidly expanding fleets, racing to capture as many fish as possible before competitors had the chance.

From Wikipedia:

Fishing in Chile is a major industry with a total catch of 4,442,877 tons of fish in 2006.[1] As of 2010, Chile has the seventh largest commercial catch in the world.[2] With over 4,000 km (2,500 miles) of viable coastline, fishing has been a vital resource for small-scale business and family development for hundreds of years. Due to the Humboldt Current, the Chilean Sea is considered among the most productive marine ecosystems in the world as well as the largest upwelling system. Artisanal fishing is practised all over Chile’s 6,435 km long coastline and combines industrial techniques with pre-Hispanic traditions. 

Typical human behaviour is to grab as much as you can when the window is closing for availability and absolve oneself of guilt.

Perhaps if you read this review https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/seaspiracy you might watch this documentary where the review tells us:

From the co-creator who brought you the groundbreaking documentary Cowspiracy comes Seaspiracy, a follow up that illuminates alarming — and not widely known — truths about the widespread environmental destruction to our oceans caused by human behavior. Filmmaker Ali Tabrizi initially set out to celebrate his beloved ocean, but instead found himself examining the harm that humans inflict upon the vulnerable seas. From plastics and fishing gear polluting the waters, to the irreparable damage of bottom trawling and by-catch, to illegal fishing and devastating hunting practices, humanity is wreaking havoc on marine life and, by extension, the entire planet. What Tabrizi ultimately uncovered not only challenges notions of sustainable fishing but will shock anyone who cares about the wonders of ocean life, as well as the future of the planet and our place on it.

As windows of opportunity are now closing on much of the world’s resources, we are grabbing what we can and creating laws to make that possible. We should have stopped fishing in many waters until stocks recovered, but we did not enact laws that would control that globally.

Sometimes the cause of deaths of marine life is contamination from toxins such as plastics, sewage, chemical leaks, oil leaks, mining waste, the list is sadly endless.. I will take a look at some of these in Part II.

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The Impact of Farming on land use: Britain

Posted on February 14, 2021 by borderslynn

In the Neolithic Era, (name for New Stone Age which occurred around 4000 – 2000 BC) ancestral farmers of Britons, established farming here which has transformed land usage. When those farmers from southern Europe arrived here 6000 years ago, they must have felt very keen to begin settling in and exploring the landscapes.  

Since tribal humans began farming, they have expanded, often having to fight for territory, and if they lost against others or were victims of some environmental catastrophe, they had to move on in the nomadic style but hoping to find a new place to settle and build a community once more.

Eyeing new land which had not yet been settled has excited the heart of humans since they first understood the possibilities of building communities, then civilisations.

Farming was already advanced in Near Eastern countries and spread to Europe, with the domestication and breeding of animals. Keeping food to hand meant settled communities had food to hand in the form of fresh meat and cultivated crops.

When the first farmers arrived in what is now southern Britain, there were many forested areas. When farming began some trees were cleared to form plots of land to grow the seeds carried by the farmers from their previous homelands.

Fisher-hunter-gatherers had travelled from East to West for thousands of years. They moved along coastlines and major rivers, such as the Danube, along the Mediterranean to the Iberian (Spain and Portugal today) Peninsula and France.

These same routes were used by the Neolithic farmers who arrived in southern Britain around 6000 years ago, and their genetics have been traced back to the Aegean Neolithic peoples. Migrations of farmers were also arriving in the Danish and Swedish areas, having originated in Anatolia.

Since generations of farmers moved toward this land over 6000 years, farming had become increasingly more sophisticated with Europe populated increasingly by farmers who were culturally diversified, but often had language attributes in common. They had domesticated wild animals and bred them into dependent creatures, so they had cattle, pigs, goats ,sheep and poultry. They brought their domesticated animals with them to Britain. Sailing in well built boats enabled them to arrive here and utilise the land most suitable for agrarian activities.

These farmers carried seeds so they could plant crops once the land was cleared wherever they chose to settle. They knew what fertile land consisted of, and understood the importance of seasons, and chose areas close to fresh running rivers..

Creating dwellings to house themselves and their animals required skills honed over centuries, and they must have begun that work immediately along the coasts, rivers and streams.

As human brains grew, we acquired skills of alchemy and worked in Bronze (a combination of tin and copper). The Bell Beaker culture began at the very beginning of the European Bronze Age. Arising from around 2800 BC, these people had originated in the Eurasian Steppe. In their migration their popular culture lasted in Britain until as late as 1800 BC. They were known for creating bell shaped pots, but were also experts in metallurgy and the making of weapons. This was an early example of mass production with an obvious supply and demand ethos.

Bell Beaker pot making, artist’s impression

Farmers then became aware of iron ore and added it to strengthen tools in Iron. The Iron Age in Britain was from 800BC to the arrival of the Romans in 44AD. Just as the farming culture originated in the Mediterranean region, so did the Iron Age developing out of the Bronze Age. It began 400 years before it reached Britain.

The Roman Empire covered 1062 sq miles (275,056.73 hectares). It formed in the years before Christianity, then grew in strength, incorporating Christianity eventually as a useful uniting tool for trade and commerce. It was backed by military strength and Roman warfare became the pinnacle of power during its time conquering tribes of Europe. Successive Popes, when coffers were low, would call on Christians in its realm to fight, for example, the 9 Crusades, and accrued vast wealth in so doing. When the Empire collapsed, there was a void of leadership which caused turmoil throughout Europe. But Christianity continued to spread with the leader of the Church being the Pope in Rome. Most Christian Monarchs in Europe deferred to whoever was the Pope during their reign.

With the Romans gone, the population of Britain would undergo massive change.

The Romans named the Pagan people in the very North of Scotland, The Picts. These people were converted to Christianity around the 6th century, but their Pagan symbols are found throughout Christian literature and icons. “Many of today’s customs used in the Church can be traced back to the 4th century, when Constantine permitted the process of converting the official religion of the Roman Empire from Paganism to Christianity.

Note the word ‘converting‘. Changing the sign on the door is a lot easier, quicker and cheaper than changing the whole building. Christianity was modelled on many customs that were familiar and acceptable to Jews and Pagans at that time, when religion and belief were intertwined with superstition.”

The Picts were descendants of the Iron Age people of northern Scotland, believed to have originated in Iberia as hunter-gatherers, they moved through lower Britain and entered Scotland around 7000BC. Recent DNA tests have proven the Picts were closely related to the Basques of northern Spain. The connections between northern Britain and Celtic Spain are supported by many myths and legends. The dolmens, standing stones and the trail of “cup and ring” designs carved on stones by the prehistoric people of Iberia make their way from Spain and Portugal and northern France to Ireland and Scotland and represent the earliest evidence of the movement of prehistoric man from Iberia to Britain.

Those fisher-hunter-gatherers travelling up the Atlantic coasts of the Iberian Peninsula then along the coast of France, and up the Atlantic coast of Britain, C.15000 to 7500 YA (see Book, The Origins of the British by Stephen Oppenheimer,, 2007) were setting the route for these migrating farmers c.6000 years ago.

Early Stone Age people also came across from the continent of Europe when Doggerland land bridge enabled good hunting until the sea levels rose (c.4000 BC). As long as 900,000 YA, in Happisburgh, Norfolk coast, there is evidence of stone tools and footprints of a Homo antecessor.

It is the genetic information which is now becoming more refined and definitive which is helping us link the New Stone Age era of humans to the beginnings of British ancestry.

It took the advanced Roman culture to record the conditions they found on these islands when they established fortification and control 43BC to 442 AD. Plantations were introduced over 400 to 650 acres, centred upon stone villas. The remaining farmers cultivated their own plots, but also, as serfs, thos of their lord. The rich farmlands bordering the Fens provided grain for the Roman legions stationed in the North. The waterways of the Fen’s were used to transport the grain, but also the innovative Romans built canals to add to transportation routes.

Under Roman occupation, farmers continued to live in their existing villages, hamlets and isolated homesteads. Population density was very low, with only 2 to 5 people per square kilometer. The main obstacles to food production was loss of soil fertility, pests, diseases of plants and animals. Roman influence taught that fields must not be over cultivated and must be allowed to lay fallow for one or more years in order to recover fertility. New tools designed by the Romans were introduced, such as the Sarculum (Roman hoe) and the Roman plough. Romans had perfected the State of the Art farming techniques which they enthusiastically taught and implemented in their newly conquered territories.

During the Roman occupation of Britannia (43 – 410 AD) some people from beyond these shores were already living here as subjects of Rome. Once the Romans went home to Rome, Europe was in turmoil and there was a massive movement of people which historians have called The Great Migration. The best farmland was known to be in Britain, already cultivated under Roman instruction. Thus the vulnerable population of these islands became the target of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes.

Bede, a Northumbrian monk (who documented much of this period), wrote that Anglo-Saxons belonged to the three largest tribes in Northern Germany, the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes. Other smaller tribes include the Franks, Batavians and Frisians.

Anglo-Saxon Occupation of Britain

During the Anglo-Saxon occupation of Britain, the three invading tribes set about creating their own kingdoms. Pushing the earlier farmers found populating the islands further west into Wales, Cornwall and further north towards Scotland. These were the truly Celtic people from the Iberian Peninsula.

The Angles split up and founded the kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia and East Anglia. They gave their name to Angle-land, which eventually be England.

The Saxons settled in Essex (East Saxons), Sussex (South Saxons), Middlesex (Middle Saxons) and Wessex (West Saxons) which today is roughly Hampshire and Wiltshire. The large Saxon presence in the areas around Wessex, gradually drove out the existing Jutes who had settled there.

The Jutes settled in Kent, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Although, probably because of the dominant presence of Saxons in the area, the Jutes did not remain long in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

The Saxons came from the northern Germanic coast line of Old Saxony. The Saxons not only invaded and settled in Britain, but also pushed north over the North Sea, and south west down to the Franks.

The farmers best known for their dramatic raids were the Vikings. Again, they were farmers with warrior attitude. They were not genetically unique to Scandinavia. They not only fought on Scottish and English soils, but also French soils. It was in France that they secured, under Rollo, the area which is now known as Normandy. Viking means North Men, so the land was named Normandy. They were the precursors of William the Conqueror who arrived on Saxon land a couple of centuries later.

We do know that all of the groups of people who sailed from Scandinavia during the Viking Age descended from the people who lived there during the Iron Age (500 BCE to 800 CE). But the genetic data does suggest a few differences. For instance, Viking Age people from Sweden and Denmark have more ancestry in common with Neolithic farmers from Anatolia, who spread west across Europe around 6,000 years ago, than their predecessors did. That suggests the flow of people and their genes from the south and east, moving across the Baltic Sea and into Sweden and Denmark just before the Viking Age..

A couple of centuries later, another Normandy born person, namely William the Conqueror chose to take on the Anglo-Saxon King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Harold was killed. William became King. But he had to deal with constant rebellions from northern forces. He chose to use religion to symbolically dominate the population, changing the structures of the existing wooden churches and replacing them with grand stone buildings and he used Norman priests to dominate the hierarchy.

The Normans built larger stone churches, and constructed basilicas in major towns, like London, Durham and York, which could hold hundreds of people worshipping at one time. One key feature of these large Norman basilicas was the rounded arch, and Norman churches would have been painted inside with religious art. This gave a clear message about the power of the church in people’s lives, and the leaders of the church were usually Norman.

William appointed Lanfranc to reorganise the Church after it had been under Anglo-Saxon rule.

Lanfranc was a very strict leader of the Church and introduced a lot of reforms in the English church. Two particular issues that he wanted to deal with were simony and celibacy.

As William’s new Archbishop, Lanfranc achievements included:

  • simony was challenged
  • stricter obedience from England’s priests to the rules of the Church
  • strong loyalty to both King William and to the Pope
  • substitution of most English bishops with Norman clergy
  • succession of William’s son, William Rufus, when the king died in 1087
  • supremacy of the Archbishop of Canterbury over York
Durham Castle and Cathedral

William the Conqueror, in 1086, ordered that all lands be surveyed in England and part of Wales, and every little detail of property be catalogued so as to assess the value of lands he oversaw as King. This survey became the ‘Domesday Book’. He died a year later, leaving his homeland of Normandy to his son Robert and England to William Rufus.

William used the ‘Domesday Book‘ to place taxes on all his subjects. Now he knew exactly who owned what. This changed the perspective of land and property forever in the country over which he rules, and for successive monarchs. He used these taxes to fund many successful battles against Scottish kings until his armies killed King Malcolm III of Scotland, and one of his sons, and took Cumberland and Westmorland off the Scots, building the Castle at Carlisle to defend against any further claims. Similarly he built castles in Wales to prevent further rebellion from the Welsh, all courtesy of the resented crippling taxes on the English population.

Farmers now worked their own family plot but also worked for the lord over them. All had to pay taxes and fight for the King whenever he bade them do so. Swearing allegiance to King and Country became the expected thing to do, and to also worship at the large churches which no longer took place in small communities, but attracted large numbers to be educated in the Norman Catholic belief system.

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