Pyridine ‘unlikely’ to be cause of mass shellfish die-off on Teesside
The latest investigation into the cause of mass creature die off along the North East coast has found an industrial chemical is unlikely to be the cause.
The Government has today issued the findings of an investigation by the independent experts at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, who used a new method to test for the chemical, pyridine, in animal tissue and sediments.
The original incident between October and December 2021 saw crustaceans washed ashore with dying creatures "twitching" and displaying lethargic behaviour right along the coast from Hartlepool[1] down to Whitby[2].
Research by academics, backed by the fishing industry, had suggested the incident could have been caused by industrial pollutant pyridine[3], possibly from dredging in the mouth of the River Tees to maintain channels for port traffic.
But in January, the independent panel concluded it is "exceptionally unlikely"[4] the deaths were caused by dredging. Instead, it concluded it was "about as likely as not" that a pathogen new to UK waters - a potential disease or parasite - caused the crab deaths.
Piles of dead crabs and sea creatures have washed up on the beach between Saltburn and Markse (Image: TeessideLive)
Now, a newly validated method to test for the presence of the chemical pyridine in animal tissue and sediments, developed by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), has been used to test samples from the die off.
Cefas was commissioned to develop and validate a quantitative method to test for pyridine in organic tissue and sediment. At the time of the initial investigation by the Environment Agency, there was no available validated method to test for pyridine in animal tissue, and the test used by the Environment Agency was adapted from the method that tests for pyridine in water.
But, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), says the research reported now provides a robust method to test for the presence of pyridine in animal tissue and sediments and has been reviewed by scientists from the Environment Agency.
Cefas has used the new validated method to re-analyse samples collected during the mass mortality event. This found low levels of pyridine in crab tissue and sediments, supporting the conclusion of the expert panel (CMEP) that it is very unlikely that pyridine caused the crab and lobster mortalities in the North-east of England in October 2021.
Gideon Henderson, Defra chief scientific adviser, said: "I welcome Cefas’ expert work to develop and validate this new analytical method for measurement of pyridine which now enables accurate and reliable measurements of this molecule in organic tissue and sediments. It will be a useful tool to assess potential pollution issues in the future, in UK waters and more widely.
"I look forward to seeing this work in the academic literature and expect the method to be of interest to other labs working on contaminations and potential impacts on ecosystems.
Dr Rachel Hartnell, Cefas Science Director added: "This new method is a really useful addition to the scientific knowledge that can be used to assess pyridine in animals and sediments. The methodology is now available if there are future mass mortality events and for other organisations to also carry out their own research.
That work will shortly be submitted to an academic journal for peer-review.
References
- ^ Hartlepool (www.gazettelive.co.uk)
- ^ Whitby (www.gazettelive.co.uk)
- ^ had suggested the incident could have been caused by industrial pollutant pyridine (www.gazettelive.co.uk)
- ^ concluded it is "exceptionally unlikely" (www.gazettelive.co.uk)