Elbe (IMAGE) Helmholtz Association Caption This is the river Elbe in Germany. The study focused on organic pollutants recorded in over 750,000 entries of water analyses in the basins of the Elbe (Czech Republic/Germany), the Danube (10 neighbouring European countries), the Schelde (Belgium) and the Llobregat (Spain) rivers. According to the European Commission, this is the first study which has developed a system which has classified organic pollutants on the basis of assessment criteria and the need for action. Credit Image courtesy of André Künzelmann/UFZ Usage Restrictions None License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.