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<p>Defra is not progressing any further investigative work into the presence of pyridine
in the River Tees at this time. We are however finalising the development and validation
of a detection method to reliably quantify the amounts of pyridine in crab tissues.
Once completed, we will use this test to assess the levels of pyridine in environmental
crab tissues associated with the impacted and non-impacted areas, to better understand
the significance of pyridine in crustacea, including the potential for its endogenous
production post-mortem.</p><p>The Government Chief Scientific Adviser has conveyed
an independent external expert panel to review all the scientific evidence relating
to this issue and report published on Friday 20 January<ins class="ministerial">.</ins></p><p>Defra
scientists continue to engage with the wider academic community with regard to ongoing
research and development work into the ecological status of the Tees and the wider
North Sea.</p>
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