Pesticides, Mercury, Lead: How Clean Are Europe's Waters?
In the latest episode of the lensEU podcast, we explore water pollution in Europe – with a particular focus on bathing waters across Europe. In the EU, there exist at least 7,866 bathing sites officially classified as clean that are located in bodies of water proven to be contaminated with chemical pollutants. What does this mean for people? And for nature? In this episode, we examine the impact of chemical pollutants in the water, who monitors water quality, where the pollution comes from, and what happens when water quality no longer meets the required standards. To answer these questions, we spoke to experts and local journalists, primarily in Germany and Latvia. Host and producer: Lilith Grull Editorial contribution: Marius Münstermann, Frida Thurm, Rose Mintzer-Sweeney Comments and feedback: europe@correctiv.org You can find CORRECTIV.Europe’s full investigation here in English and here in German. It also includes the interactive atlas, which allows you to check the situation in your own region. Märkische Oderzeitung has published two related articles. The first looks at three landfill sites near Bernau. In the second, a politician comments on the situation. You can read more about the situation in Latvia here. LENS EU – A closer look at the issues shaping Europe’s shared community is a collaboration between media organisations and institutions from across Europe. The joint project is co-funded by the European Union. However, the views and opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission.
