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Rachel Salvidge

@rachelsalvidge.bsky.social
16K followers 900 following 240 posts

Environmental journalist. Founder of investigative journalism non-profit watershedinvestigations.com Bylines: @guardian @thetimes @bbc @SkyNews @itv Ex: @TheENDSReport @PenguinUKBooks @independent Rachel.salvidge@watershedinvestigations.com

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Reposted by Rachel Salvidge
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
“My husband, mum, sister, father and neighbours died of cancer. I have cancer in my head and a tumour in my spine.” She doesn’t want to be named but wants her story told. For years she ate food from an allotment by a chemicals company. We tested her blood substack.com/@watershedinve…
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
“My husband, mum, sister, father and neighbours died of cancer. I have cancer in my head and a tumour in my spine.” She doesn’t want to be named but wants her story told. For years she ate food from an allotment by a chemicals company. We tested her blood substack.com/@watershedinve…
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Reposted by Rachel Salvidge
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
We’ve found alarmingly high levels of PFAS “forever chemicals” in the blood of people living near a chemicals site in Lancashire. 49 people tested. 70% had levels in a high risk health category. The BBC, Times and ITV are reporting the findings today. www.itv.com/news/2026-09...
itv.com
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
We’ve found alarmingly high levels of PFAS “forever chemicals” in the blood of people living near a chemicals site in Lancashire. 49 people tested. 70% had levels in a high risk health category. The BBC, Times and ITV are reporting the findings today. www.itv.com/news/2026-09...
itv.com
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
PLEASE WATCH BBC TEN O'CLOCK NEWS, OR ITV NEWS AT TEN, OR READ THE TIMES SITE AT 10PM TONIGHT We found high levels of carcinogenic PFAS in people's blood. After finding high levels of it coming off a the site of chemicals plants past and present... pls watch for more...
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Reposted by Rachel Salvidge
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Revealed! How companies ‘secretly’ use billions of litres of public water in drought-hit England. Companies use 2.6 billion litres of public water a day, many not required to report or cut their use. Less than 1% use same amount of water as 10 million people. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Revealed: how companies ‘secretly’ use billions of litres of public water in drought-hit England
Exclusive: As millions of people face hosepipe bans, many companies are not required to report, let alone cut, use of public supply
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Revealed! How companies ‘secretly’ use billions of litres of public water in drought-hit England. Companies use 2.6 billion litres of public water a day, many not required to report or cut their use. Less than 1% use same amount of water as 10 million people. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Revealed: how companies ‘secretly’ use billions of litres of public water in drought-hit England
Exclusive: As millions of people face hosepipe bans, many companies are not required to report, let alone cut, use of public supply
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
I'm MANIFESTLY UNREASONABLE, according to the Ministry of Defence. Well, sometimes, yes. But not in this case. Asking whether they're polluting air, land and water with carcinogens seems perfectly sane to me. substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com
The Ministry of Defence says I'm 'manifestly unreasonable' for wanting to know whether they're polluting air, land and water with carcinogens
I've been called many things. Some stand up. This doesn't.
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
We sampled the effluent off a chemicals plant site & found a banned carcinogen entering the River Wyre, triggering a multi-agency probe. The co at the centre now says it may close citing financial difficulties. Previous chemical cos have long gone watershedinvestigations.substack.com/p/you-can-on...
watershedinvestigations.substack.com
You can only make a polluter pay if the polluter still exists
AGC Chemicals Europe, the company at the centre of a PFAS contamination investigation, says it may have to close. ICI, which occupied the site for decades before, vanished years ago.
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
When I write an investigation, you only ever get a fraction of the story. There's so much more - context, detail, threads that don't make the final cut. Follow my Substact if you want field notes, opinion, analysis, follow-ups and more! open.substack.com/pub/watershe...
open.substack.com
Forever chemicals, forever excuses: the Government just answered MPs' calls to act on toxic PFAS. It said no to almost everything.
I've spent five years investigating PFAS and have launched the Watershed substack to keep telling critical aspects of this story and others that don't make the mainstream news.
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
The EU's backing mines to wean itself off China for critical minerals but many of them are in water stressed areas. Much alarm over Brussels' plans to revise water laws to speed up development. I mapped them watershedinvestigations.com/find-out-wha... and wrote a story for Guardian - see post below
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
‘It’s Russian roulette’: Europe backs critical minerals mines in water-stressed areas and plans to rewrite water laws to speed up development Story: share.google/Gdw3DhAYhI5s... Map: watershedinvestigations.com/find-out-wha...
share.google
‘It’s Russian roulette’: alarm as Europe backs critical minerals mines in water-stressed regions
Exclusive: European Commission planning to rewrite key law to allow water-intensive mines in regions suffering from drought
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Delighted @WATERSHED_i is now a member of the Global Investigative Journalism Network @gijn As newsrooms cut investigative teams & pressures on journalists grow, nonprofits are helping fill the gap. Looking forward to collaborating with this brilliant network gijn.org
gijn.org
Global Investigative Journalism Network
GIJN is an international association of nonprofit organizations that support, promote, and produce investigative journalism. GIJN hosts conferences and provides training, resources, and consulting.
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
I nearly fell off my chair when I found out that Gibraltar HAS NEVER HAD A SEWAGE PLANT and therefore ALL ITS RAW, UNTREATED SEWAGE (from a mere 40,000 people and their businesses) is dumped straight into the MEDITERRANEAN Sea. Great work, guys. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...
theguardian.com
Gibraltar dumping all of its raw sewage into Mediterranean
Wastewater from nearly 40,000 people and businesses pumped straight into sea as territory still has no treatment plant
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Here are your top 10 dumpers for 2025 🥇 Salcombe Regis (SWW) 5,446 hours 🥈 Unpermitted site, Devon (SWW) 4,967h 🥉 Tatworth (SWW) 4,141h Brayford (SWW) 3,763h Lavant (Southern) 3,583h Chacewater (SWW) 3,542h Markyate (Thames) 3,531h Staveley (UU) 3,395 Altarnun (SWW) 3,295 Church Stretton (ST) 3,257
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
And here's the full Isle of Sh*te picture. Total sewage spills last year. Check out the interactive map here: watershedinvestigations.com/find-out-wha...
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Reposted by Rachel Salvidge
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Huzzah! Tomorrow's Sewage Spill Day when the full stats are released on how much was discharged into rivers, lakes and coasts last year. To whet your appetites I’ve mapped the 2025 spills at outfalls affecting bathing waters. Here are the top 10 worst offenders in reverse order:
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Huzzah! Tomorrow's Sewage Spill Day when the full stats are released on how much was discharged into rivers, lakes and coasts last year. To whet your appetites I’ve mapped the 2025 spills at outfalls affecting bathing waters. Here are the top 10 worst offenders in reverse order:
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Huge congratulations to Kaveh Madani. It was wonderful to speak with him and hear about his life and work. Kaveh has an incredible story, check out my interview with him for the Guardian...
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Reposted by Rachel Salvidge
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
Superbugs resistant to antibiotics are rising fast. I tested water at Lough Neagh (40% of Northern Ireland’s drinking water) & found high levels of antibiotic-resistant genes from human & livestock poo. If we treat waterways like sewers, this is what we get. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
‘Drinking from a fetid pond’: superbug-creating genes found in UK’s largest lake
Exclusive: Lough Neagh, which supplies drinking water for 40% of NI, contains genes resistant to last-resort antibiotics
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
Superbugs resistant to antibiotics are rising fast. I tested water at Lough Neagh (40% of Northern Ireland’s drinking water) & found high levels of antibiotic-resistant genes from human & livestock poo. If we treat waterways like sewers, this is what we get. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
‘Drinking from a fetid pond’: superbug-creating genes found in UK’s largest lake
Exclusive: Lough Neagh, which supplies drinking water for 40% of NI, contains genes resistant to last-resort antibiotics
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
AMR is one of the biggest public health threats of our time. I found genes capable of creating antibiotic-resistant superbugs in every water sample I tested from Lough Neagh and talk about this on BBC Rare Earth today. Full report in the Guardian tomorrow www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
bbc.co.uk
BBC Radio 4 - Rare Earth, Lakes, Lochs and Loughs
Plunge into the chilly, much-disputed waters of the lakes of the British Isles.
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
After a decade as a de facto poop correspondent, it was great to see the sewage scandal brought together in Channel 4’s brilliant drama Dirty Business. Even if you think you know the story, watch it. I’ve tried to sum up the whole malodorous affair here: watershedinvestigations.com/a-decade-ins...
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
After a decade as a de facto poop correspondent, it was great to see the sewage scandal brought together in Channel 4’s brilliant drama Dirty Business. Even if you think you know the story, watch it. I’ve tried to sum up the whole malodorous affair here: watershedinvestigations.com/a-decade-ins...
watershedinvestigations.com
A decade Inside England’s sewage scandal - Watershed Investigations
England is the only country in the world with a fully privatised water system, and it shows. After a decade reporting on sewage spills and regulator failures, I’ve watched a slow-burning pollution cri...
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
It's still a shock to find a new PFAS forever chemical hotspot, even when it's inevitable. A bit of digging around paper mills, which often use PFAS, revealed the banned carcinogen PFOS at levels as high as 3,000ng/l in groundwater in south Cumbria www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Race to find source of carcinogenic Pfas in Cumbria and Lancashire waters
Exclusive: High levels of banned ‘forever chemical’ have been detected in rivers and groundwater at 25 sites
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
Fantastic day on the spectacular Lough Neagh, sampling its waters...
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
OOFF! Just seen a preview of Dirty Business (Ch4 factual drama) on the sewage scandal. This will start a conflagration. Tears and fury. Could it spark a Post Office-style reckoning? I think it could. Watch it later this month. Kudos to the heroes Ash Smith and Peter Hammond from WASP
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Obsessing over water supplies & worried that there's no captain on this ship. Nobody knows the true picture over who's using the critical resource, and the global picture is pretty dire. I've pulled my latest articles together to try to make sense of it watershedinvestigations.com/dry-taps-flo...
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Frightening to see the dramatic rise in water-related violence since 2022. Check out the interactive map (second post) to see where the flashpoints are... www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Dramatic rise in water-related violence recorded since 2022
Experts say climate crisis, corruption and lack or misuse of infrastructure among factors driving water conflicts
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Reposted by Rachel Salvidge
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Half the world’s 100 largest cities are in high water stress areas. As we enter a global era of water bankruptcy we need water front and centre of agendas. Check out the new Water Security Atlas (second post) and my story in the Guardian. 1/2 www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Half the world’s 100 largest cities are in high water stress areas, analysis finds
Exclusive: Beijing, Delhi, Los Angeles and Rio de Janeiro among worst affected, with demand close to exceeding supply
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Half the world’s 100 largest cities are in high water stress areas. As we enter a global era of water bankruptcy we need water front and centre of agendas. Check out the new Water Security Atlas (second post) and my story in the Guardian. 1/2 www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Half the world’s 100 largest cities are in high water stress areas, analysis finds
Exclusive: Beijing, Delhi, Los Angeles and Rio de Janeiro among worst affected, with demand close to exceeding supply
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Reposted by Rachel Salvidge
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Could we run out of water? “People would be shocked if they knew just how close we’ve come", a former Environment Agency officer told me. To many on this damp little island, the idea’s preposterous. But it’s a very real threat. Here's what I know... watershedinvestigations.com/day-zero-is-...
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Reposted by Rachel Salvidge
Leana Hosea @leanahosea.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
Mercury, lead, arsenic + PFAS: Europe's hidden historic landfills leaching chemicals into water, soil + ecosystems. Our new joint report with @investigate-europe.eu, out now: share.google/gQ0rXbwL4rjN...
share.google
UK and Europe’s hidden landfills at risk of leaking toxic waste into water supplies
Exclusive: Rising flood risks driven by climate change could release toxic waste from ageing sites – posing threats to ecosystems
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Reposted by Rachel Salvidge
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Panorama is covering PFAS tonight! Lots of the revelations are based on our work and so I've put together a list of key investigations here so you can dive deeper, if you're interested! Go on, go on... watershedinvestigations.com/watershed-pf...
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Panorama is covering PFAS tonight! Lots of the revelations are based on our work and so I've put together a list of key investigations here so you can dive deeper, if you're interested! Go on, go on... watershedinvestigations.com/watershed-pf...
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Could we run out of water? “People would be shocked if they knew just how close we’ve come", a former Environment Agency officer told me. To many on this damp little island, the idea’s preposterous. But it’s a very real threat. Here's what I know... watershedinvestigations.com/day-zero-is-...
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Reposted by Rachel Salvidge
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 30/11/2025
Are England's water resources being managed properly across industry and domestic use? I'm not sure about that. Tensions growing between govt, water sector & regulators over water supplies, amid warnings of potential widespread drought next year www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Water shortages could derail UK’s net zero plans, study finds
Tensions grow after research in England finds there may not be enough water for planned carbon capture and hydrogen projects
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Reposted by Rachel Salvidge
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
NEW! Vast swathes of Europe’s water reserves are drying up, two decades of satellite data reveals, with freshwater storage shrinking across Europe www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Revealed: Europe’s water reserves drying up due to climate breakdown
Exclusive: UCL scientists find large swathes of southern Europe are drying up, with ‘far-reaching’ implications
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 30/11/2025
Are England's water resources being managed properly across industry and domestic use? I'm not sure about that. Tensions growing between govt, water sector & regulators over water supplies, amid warnings of potential widespread drought next year www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Water shortages could derail UK’s net zero plans, study finds
Tensions grow after research in England finds there may not be enough water for planned carbon capture and hydrogen projects
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
NEW! Vast swathes of Europe’s water reserves are drying up, two decades of satellite data reveals, with freshwater storage shrinking across Europe www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Revealed: Europe’s water reserves drying up due to climate breakdown
Exclusive: UCL scientists find large swathes of southern Europe are drying up, with ‘far-reaching’ implications
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Reposted by Rachel Salvidge
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Check out the new bathing water results here: watershedinvestigations.com/find-out-wha...
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Check out the new bathing water results here: watershedinvestigations.com/find-out-wha...
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
England's bathing water results are out! I've mapped them here: MAP: watershedinvestigations.com/find-out-wha... Defra says it's an improvement but I'm not so sure. A few thoughts here about what the results don't tell you: watershedinvestigations.com/the-environm...
watershedinvestigations.com
England’s bathing water results are out, but do they tell the full story? - Watershed Investigations
The Environment Agency has released England’s latest bathing water classifications and Defra is calling the results a success, but the testing regime masks a host of potential problems.
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Made a new pal on this morning’s run
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Reposted by Rachel Salvidge
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
NEW: Risky levels of forever chemicals in the raw drinking water sources of at least 6 million people prompted the Drinking Water Inspectorate to order water companies to act to ensure it doesn't make it to the tap. 1/2 Covered today on the BBC and... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Firms ordered to reduce forever chemicals in drinking water for 6m people - BBC News
The persistent pollutants which build up in the environment have been linked to serious illnesses.
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
NEW: Risky levels of forever chemicals in the raw drinking water sources of at least 6 million people prompted the Drinking Water Inspectorate to order water companies to act to ensure it doesn't make it to the tap. 1/2 Covered today on the BBC and... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Firms ordered to reduce forever chemicals in drinking water for 6m people - BBC News
The persistent pollutants which build up in the environment have been linked to serious illnesses.
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Reposted by Rachel Salvidge
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
Exclusive: mercury from fillings, belched out of crematoria, is getting into our rivers and fish. More than 98% of fish & mussels tested in English waters contain mercury above proposed EU limits. 43 countries have banned it. Why not here you might ask... www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Toxin levels in fish lead to calls for UK-wide ban on mercury dental fillings
Exclusive: More than 98% of fish and mussels tested in English waters contain mercury above EU safety limits
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
Exclusive: mercury from fillings, belched out of crematoria, is getting into our rivers and fish. More than 98% of fish & mussels tested in English waters contain mercury above proposed EU limits. 43 countries have banned it. Why not here you might ask... www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Toxin levels in fish lead to calls for UK-wide ban on mercury dental fillings
Exclusive: More than 98% of fish and mussels tested in English waters contain mercury above EU safety limits
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Reposted by Rachel Salvidge
Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
The UK is among the most nature depleted counties in the world. A horrendous fact. Can you help reverse this by donating some cash to help the Wildlife Trusts buy the enormous Rothbury Estate so they can bring back wildlife? www.wildlifetrusts.org/appeals/roth...
wildlifetrusts.org
Donate to Secure the Rothbury Estate | The Wildlife Trusts
Stretching over 3,800 hectares, the Rothbury Estate in Northumberland is abundant with opportunity. It’s the largest continuous area of land to appear on the market in 50 years. Its sale creates a uni...
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
The UK is among the most nature depleted counties in the world. A horrendous fact. Can you help reverse this by donating some cash to help the Wildlife Trusts buy the enormous Rothbury Estate so they can bring back wildlife? www.wildlifetrusts.org/appeals/roth...
wildlifetrusts.org
Donate to Secure the Rothbury Estate | The Wildlife Trusts
Stretching over 3,800 hectares, the Rothbury Estate in Northumberland is abundant with opportunity. It’s the largest continuous area of land to appear on the market in 50 years. Its sale creates a uni...
3156101