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Insect repellent used on a camping trip years ago may have ended up in a national park — even one you never visited. That is one lesson of a study published in December 2024 in the journal Environmental Pollution.
The study
- From 2009 to 2019, National Park Service and other scientists collected water at 246 sites in 46 national parks.
- They tested the samples for pollutants such as medicines, personal care products and pesticides.
- Of 340 possible pollutants, they found 155.
What turned up most
Four pollutants were in more than 20 percent of the samples:
| Pollutant | What it is |
|---|---|
| DEET | a pesticide |
| Theobromine | from caffeine |
| BPA | a plastic additive |
| Gabapentin | an anticonvulsant |
Harm to aquatic life
27 pollutants — mainly pesticides, and DEET most of all — were at levels harmful to aquatic life. The scientists found that nearby wastewater treatment plants and farmland were the most likely sources of the medicines and pesticides.
Why it matters
It is the largest study to date of U.S. national park surface waters. It gives scientists a baseline to compare with future results and to track changes in water quality.
Sources
Based on "Pharmaceuticals, Personal Care Products, and Pesticides in Park Waters," by the editors of Park Science magazine, Research Roundup, volume 39, number 1, Winter 2024–25, National Park Service; a work of the United States government in the public domain. The study: Elliott and others, 2024, "Trace Organic Contaminants in U.S. National Park Surface Waters: Prevalence and Ecological Context," Environmental Pollution 362: 125006. The study's map of sampling sites is not reproduced.
Licens: CC0 1.0 (allmän egendom) · Bearbetat efter www.nps.gov
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