Overview
- Researchers in the Bahamas tested 85 sharks near Eleuthera and found human-use compounds in 28 animals.
- Caffeine turned up in 27 sharks, acetaminophen and diclofenac in three each, and cocaine in two.
- A separate study near Rio de Janeiro found cocaine in all 13 sharks tested and benzoylecgonine, a cocaine breakdown product that signals exposure, in 12.
- The highest Bahamian readings came from a tourist-diving site called The Aquaculture Cage.
- Scientists say wastewater is the most likely route for these chemicals to reach the sea, while health harms to sharks remain unproven.