idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
A comprehensive study by the CritMET research group, led by Prof. Michael Bau, a geochemist at Constructor University in Bremen, provides evidence of widespread contamination of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea with MRI contrast agents. As modern wastewater treatment plants cannot remove these contaminants from the wastewater, they can freely enter the environment and pollute rivers and lakes. Recently published research from a Bremen area group has shown that rare-earth elements directly attributed to MRIs are now present in the North and the Baltic Seas.
Medical examinations using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) employ contrast agents containing the rare-earth element gadolinium. After patients excrete these contrast agents, even modern wastewater treatment plants cannot remove them from the wastewater, allowing them to enter the environment and pollute rivers and lakes. These contaminants have now reached the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, as demonstrated by the Bremen research group in a comprehensive study, the results of which have now been published in several articles in renowned scientific journals.
“The southern North Sea receives the contrast agents primarily via the Rhine, Ems, Weser, and Elbe rivers, but also the River Thames,” says Dr. Dennis Krämer, head of the Soil Analysis Department at the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources in Hanover, who is the lead author of the North Sea study and an adjunct professor at Constructor University. “And from there, ocean currents transport the contrast agents along the German and Danish coasts to the fjords in southern Norway, where the water mixes with Baltic Sea water,” adds Dr. Anna-Lena Zocher, who studied these fjords as well as the water flowing in from the Baltic Sea into the Kattegat.
“The Baltic Sea water, in turn, receives the gadolinium contrast agents from, among other sources, the Vistula and Oder rivers, which—like other rivers in Poland and almost everywhere in Europe—are contaminated with this anthropogenic gadolinium,” adds Addis Alemu, a doctoral candidate in the EU project “PANORAMA”, who is investigating rare earth elements in rivers and lakes across Europe.
Since the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, and the Norwegian fjords are not only important for biodiversity but also have significant economic importance due to tourism and aquaculture, Dr. Keran Zhang, another member of the CritMET group, is investigating mussels and fish from the affected areas. “Occasionally, we find indications that aquatic organisms such as blue mussels can incorporate MRI contrast agents, but so far it does not look as if this gadolinium is actually entering the food chain on a large scale,” Zhang reassures.
“Next, we will evaluate how stable the various MRI contrast agents in seawater actually are. We investigate how long it takes for these chemical compounds to degrade in seawater, releasing the gadolinium and making it bioavailable. The concentrations of anthropogenic gadolinium are currently well-below dangerous levels. However, the trend of increasing quantities of these substances entering rivers and lakes, and subsequently coastal seas, groundwater and drinking water, will continue unabated and may even intensify. And critical raw materials derived from such chemicals have no place in water, especially drinking water, of course”, Professor Bau points out, referring to the current projects of the CritMET group. “Rare earth elements, in particular, exemplify how these critical metals are not only of great importance as raw materials, but also pose new challenges for the environment and for drinking water suppliers, as mining and use in the EU will inevitably further increase”.
Merkmale dieser Pressemitteilung:
Journalisten, Wirtschaftsvertreter, Wissenschaftler, jedermann
Geowissenschaften, Umwelt / Ökologie
überregional
Forschungsergebnisse, Forschungsprojekte
Englisch
Sie können Suchbegriffe mit und, oder und / oder nicht verknüpfen, z. B. Philo nicht logie.
Verknüpfungen können Sie mit Klammern voneinander trennen, z. B. (Philo nicht logie) oder (Psycho und logie).
Zusammenhängende Worte werden als Wortgruppe gesucht, wenn Sie sie in Anführungsstriche setzen, z. B. „Bundesrepublik Deutschland“.
Die Erweiterte Suche können Sie auch nutzen, ohne Suchbegriffe einzugeben. Sie orientiert sich dann an den Kriterien, die Sie ausgewählt haben (z. B. nach dem Land oder dem Sachgebiet).
Haben Sie in einer Kategorie kein Kriterium ausgewählt, wird die gesamte Kategorie durchsucht (z.B. alle Sachgebiete oder alle Länder).
