Jill Turner, local resident and open water swimmer, said: “When we found out about the antidepressants, we laughed about it at first because you do feel really chilled out when you go cold water swimming!
“But what the hell is it doing in our rivers?”
The brook is a Site of Special Scientific Interest; recognised as important for key species to breed and the larger wildlife ecosystem.
The study found 31 active pharmaceutical ingredients were found across 52 of the 54 sampling locations, which were taken in the winter and summer of 2022, across England’s 10 protected national parks.
Active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) refers to drugs that are biologically active and can end up in our rivers when humans flush away medication down the toilet, or when our bodies excrete them after use.
