No abstract

Heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, zinc and copper are among the most important pollutants because of their non-biodegradability and toxicity above certain thresholds. Here, we review methods for sensing heavy metal ions (HMI) in water samples using screenprinted electrodes (SPEs) as transducers. The review (with 107 refs.) starts with an introduction into the topic, and this is followed by sections on (a) mercury-coated SPEs, (b) bismuth-coated SPEs, (c) gold-coated SPEs (d) chemically modified and non-modified carbon SPEs, (e) enzyme inhibition-based SPEs, and (f) an overview of commercially available electrochemical portable heavy metal analyzers. The review reveals the significance of SPEs in terms of decentralized and of in situ analysis of heavy metal ions in environmental monitoring.

The European Water Framework Directive (WFD; 2000/60/EG) and the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD; 2008/56/EC) were umbrella legislations for fresh and marine waters. It is a challenge for the scientific community to translate the principles of these directives into realistic and accurate approaches. Both directives have the same concept, comparing the current state of an area with that which would be expected under minimal or sustainable human use of that area and in case of degradation, intervening to bring it back to the desired good status. However, each directive used specific principles to fill it in. For the WFD, this was executed during the last decade, and many results of it were already published. This process delivered valuable knowledge on which the implementation of the MSFD can be founded.Therefore, the ICES Benthos Ecology Working Group aimed to stress and discuss some issues, with focus on benthic macro-invertebrates, related to the fulfillment of the principles of both directives. This through the description of (1) how the principles are theoretically filled in by both directives