Leslie Petrik

An aerial view of Cape Town city. GettyImages

July 7, 2025

Cape Town’s sewage treatment isn’t coping: scientists are worried about what the city is telling the public

Lesley Green, University of Cape Town; Cecilia Yejide Ojemaye, University of Cape Town; Jo Barnes, Stellenbosch University; Leslie Petrik, University of the Western Cape; Nikiwe Solomon, University of Cape Town, and Vanessa Farr, Sheffield Hallam University

Current science communications in Cape Town are not serving the public well.

Limpets had the highest concentrations of chemical compounds compared to other marine organisms studied. A. Mertens/Shutterstock

May 29, 2022

Leslie Petrik, University of the Western Cape and Cecilia Yejide Ojemaye, University of the Western Cape

When humans eat fish, mussels and other foods containing antibiotics, the residual antibiotics may cause bacterial pathogens to become resistant.

What fly ash looks like after being stored in an ash dam. Leslie Petrik

July 8, 2015

Leslie Petrik, University of the Western Cape

The ash produced by coal mining is particularly harmful to humans. There is a way to reduce that harm and use the ash effectively, though.