Date: 25.04.2025
A Chemical Cocktail in the Elbe River Threatens Aquatic Life
An international scientific team, including colleagues from the Institute of Hydrobiology of the Biology Centre CAS, has published an extensive study mapping the chemical pollution of the Elbe River from its spring in the Krkonoše Mountains to its mouth in the North Sea. The researchers analyzed more than 700 different organic compounds—including pesticides, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, and their degradation products—and tested their effects on aquatic organisms using so-called biotests. The results revealed that although only a small portion of the toxic effects could be specifically identified, the concentrations of harmful substances frequently exceeded safe limits.
Photo: The Elbe River below Střekov Castle near Ústí nad Labem, one of the sampling sites in the Czech Republic.
Substances with estrogenic activity, acting as endocrine disruptors, were detected at levels that can negatively affect fish reproduction and the overall stability of river ecosystems. Major pollution hotspots were found near urban and industrial areas, such as the lower Elbe, the Bílina River, and around the city of Pardubice.
The researchers used an innovative approach that combines classical chemical analysis with the assessment of biological effects—focusing not only on what is present in the water but also on how it impacts living cells. This method allows to detect so-called "hidden" pollutants that standard analytical techniques may miss.
The study’s conclusions highlight the urgent need for stricter monitoring of chemical pollution in rivers and the development of more effective water protection strategies. The research demonstrated that even rivers considered relatively clean can harbor a dangerous chemical cocktail that threatens aquatic life and water quality.
The article was published in ACS Environmental Au and attracted significant attention from the journal’s editors, who selected it for the prestigious ACS Editors’ Choice—a daily distinction awarded to only one article across the entire ACS publishing portfolio with exceptional potential to reach a broad audience.
Elena Hommel, Maria König, Georg Braun, Martin Krauss, Norbert Kamjunke, Werner Brack, Anna Matoušů, Tina Sanders, Ingeborg Bussmann, Eric P. Achterberg, Björn Raupers, and Beate I. Escher (2025): Following the Mixtures of Organic Micropollutants with In Vitro Bioassays in a Large Lowland River from Source to Sea. ACS Environmental Au 0, 0, pp DOI:10.1021/acsenvironau.4c00059, IF = 6,7.
