Publication Abstract

Contaminant monitoring for priority pollutants is an integral part of the UK obligations under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and OSPAR monitoring programmes. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) requires that concentrations of contaminants are at levels not giving rise to pollution effects.
It is therefore important to establish whether environmental concentrations of chemicals on existing EC and OSPAR chemical priority lists (e.g. those used to determine chemical status under the WFD) are of toxicological significance, and whether there are additional substances with potential to cause harm in the UK marine environment.
In order to inform this process, passive samplers (silicon rubber and POCIS) were deployed to provide information on presence and freely dissolved concentration of a wide range of potential target substances for monitoring programmes. The survey covered a wide range of locations around the UK, from industrial estuaries to relatively unimpacted offshore waters. Samplers were deployed for periods of 4 – 8 weeks during the early part of 2009.
This survey provides a baseline of contaminant concentrations for current and future needs and an indication of whether hazardous substances of concern, particularly those prioritised by the EC and OSPAR, are present in UK coastal and marine waters at levels likely to produce pollution effects. It will also provide an assessment of the potential role of passive samplers in future monitoring requirements, for example in relation to GES under MSFD, as well as helping to target future monitoring programmes for contaminants.