Emerging Contaminants in Remote Marine Waters
Miroslav Brumovský 1
, Luca Nizzetto 1,2
1
RECETOX, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic
2
Norwegian Institute for Water Research, Gaustadalléen 21, 0349 Oslo, Norway
E-mail: brumovsky@recetox.muni.cz
Marine coastal waters are receptors of thousands of chemical pollutants. Several anthropogenic
chemicals were detected in surface water even in remote oceanic regions [1]. A number of
international conventions aim at regulating some classes of prioritized substances of particular
concern. Priority lists, however, are generally limited to a few dozens of chemicals with well-studied
toxic properties [2]. Unregulated chemicals frequently detected in environmental samples include
several classes of chemicals encompassing both high- and low- production volume substances, e.g.,
antifouling pesticides, plasticizers, anticorrosive agents, surfactants, flame retardants, pharmaceuticals,
personal care products, herbicides and food additives [3]. These are further referred to as
Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs). Risks posed by CECs to the environment and human
health are largely unknown due to the lack of information about their occurrence and sub-lethal
toxicity effects.
Results of monitoring of several classes of CECs in the North Sea and the Western Mediterranean Sea
will be presented [4, 5]. In the North Sea, 14 currently used pesticides, 11 pharmaceuticals and
personal care products and 3 food additives were detected in water samples through targeted
analysis at sub-ng to tenths of ng/L levels in both coastal and offshore areas [4]. The samples were
collected using pre-programmed automatic sampler on board of a ship of opportunity. In the
Mediterranean Sea, the spatial and temporal distribution of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances
(PFASs) in open surface waters was investigated [5]. PFASs had a relatively homogeneous distribution
with levels similar to those previously measured in the Atlantic near the Strait of Gibraltar, in water
masses feeding the inflow to the Mediterranean Sea. In addition, 3 currently used pesticides, 11
pharmaceuticals and personal care products and two artificial sweeteners were detected in the
Western Mediterranean offshore waters.
References
[1] Lohmann, R. et al., 2007. Global fate of POPs: current and future research directions. Environ. Pollut. 150,
150–65.
[2] European Comission, 2013. Directive 2013/39/EU. Off. J. Eur. Union 226, 1–17.
[3] Nödler, K. et al., 2014. Polar organic micropollutants in the coastal environment of different marine
systems. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 85, 50–59.
[4] Brumovský, M. et al., 2016. Exploring the occurrence and distribution of contaminants of emerging concern
through unmanned sampling from ships of opportunity in the North Sea, J. Mar. Syst. 162, 47-56.
[5] Brumovský, M. et al., 2016. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in the Western Mediterranean Sea waters.
Chemosphere 159, 308-316.