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Scientists find cocaine in shrimp

Researchers with Kings College London and the University of Suffolk said they found illicit drugs and pesticides in UK river wildlife.

Credit: AP

FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2012 file photo, northern shrimp lie in a pile aboard a trawler in the Gulf of Maine. A small amount of New England shrimp has been available to the public despite a fishing shutdown in recent years, but that will not be the case in the winter of 2018-19. In some previous years of the moratorium, New England's shrimp trawlers and trappers have been able to bring some of the winter seafood item to market via a program called the "research set aside." The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has ruled that the population of the shrimp, which is jeopardized by a warming ocean, is so low that even the research program isn't going to be implemented this time around. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

Scientists in the UK have found cocaine, prescription drugs and pesticides in river wildlife in some parts of rural England.

The study was published Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal Environment International and said river wildlife like freshwater shrimp was exposed to multiple micropollutants -- chemicals found at very low levels.

Researchers with Kings College London and the University of Suffolk teamed up for the study and said consumer products, chemicals, medicines and drugs can end up in rivers and potentially hurt the environment. The group collected samples from 15 different sites around Suffolk County.

Cocaine was found in all samples tested, the study said. The group said ketamine, banned pesticides and other pharmaceuticals were also "widespread in the shrimp that were collected."

Sky News reported the group is now calling for more research around the UK to determine whether these micropollutants are concentrated in one particular county or symptomatic of a much more widespread problem.

"Such regular occurrence of illicit drugs in wildlife was surprising," Dr. Leon Barron from Kings College London said in a news release.

Barron said scientists expect these findings in urban areas like London but are surprised to find them in rural areas like Suffolk.

Sky News said two studies from January found cocaine from human urine was turning up in samples from the Thames River as it flowed through London. The outlet said even small doses can cause hyperactivity in eels.

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