An investigation by the Guardian and Watershed Investigations has highlighted how hundreds of potentially toxic road runoff outfalls are polluting England’s rivers. No regulator is monitoring the scale of impact of dangerous chemicals on wildlife or public health.

Last month, National Highways reported it had assessed its discharge points and found 1,236 outfalls and soakaways had “a potential high risk of pollution”. Of these, “145 have a verified high risk of pollution and require mitigation” while the remaining 1,091 had a “potential high risk” of “polluting the water environment”.

Analysis by the Guardian and Watershed Investigations of hundreds of these sites reveals that about 70 are located in areas that are legally protected for important habitats or wildlife, and about 250 are within 1km (0.6 miles) of a protected site. Hundreds more discharge to rivers and land with no formal protection.

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