Mercury levels and trends (1993–2009) in bream (Abramis brama L.) and zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) from German surface waters

Lepom, Peter; Irmer, U.; Wellmitz, Jörg

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2011.10.021

Cited by 26 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Downs et al, 1999) or elsewhere (eg. Lepom et al, 2012), but most measured concentrations remain clearly above the EQS of 20 µg/kg ww.…”

Section: Hexachlorobutadiene (Hcbd)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Differences between species and the increase of Hg concentration with size/age, demonstrate the importance of choice of species and size. In the current version of the legislation there is no prescription on size, age or species of sampled "prey", but Lepom et al (2012) found that the concentration of mercury in zebra mussels was approximately 25 times lower than the concentration in bream caught in the same year and stretch of river. Zebra mussel have only about 5% dry weight compared to about 25% in fish, so part of the difference can be explained by their higher water content, but even allowing for dry weight a five-fold difference remains.…”

Section: Discusssionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The presence of EU priority substances mercury, hexachlorobenzene, hexachlorobutadiene and PBDEs in wild fish from four English rivers

Jürgens

Johnson

Jones

et al. 2013

Science of The Total Environment

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J. 2013. The presence of EU priority substances mercury, hexachlorobenzene, hexachlorobutadiene and PBDEs in wild fish from four English rivers.Contact CEH NORA team at noraceh@ceh.ac.ukThe NERC and CEH trademarks and logos ('the Trademarks') are registered trademarks of NERC in the UK and other countries, and may not be used without the prior written consent of the Trademark owner.-1 - AbstractSince 2007 about 200 to 300 fish per year (generally roach (rutilus rutilus) but also a few bleak (alburnus alburnus) and eels (anguilla anguilla)) have been collected from a number of English river sites and stored at -80°C to build up a Fish Tissue Archive as a resource for the monitoring of pollutants. Some of the fish from the Fish Tissue Archive from the years 2007-2011 were analyzed for substances in current and proposed European legislation regarding environmental quality standards (EQS) in biota. It was found that mercury exceeded the EU EQS of 20 µg/kg in 79 % of samples with an average and median of 31 and 29 µg/kg. The legacy fungicide hexachlorobenzene (HCB) was below the EQS of 10 µg/kg in all fish analyzed, with a maximum of 6 µg/kg in some eels. The legacy solvent hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD) was below the EQS of 55 µg/kg, being < 0.2 µg/kg in all samples where it was measured. The sums of six polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were several orders of magnitude higher than the new proposed 0.0085 µg/kg biota EQS. This study showed that the regular collection and analysis of whole body homogenate samples of relatively small native pelagic fish is suitable for the monitoring of contaminants capable of bioaccumulation. With regard to current or proposed EQS for EU countries, mercury and potentially PBDE in fish are of some concern in these English rivers.-2 - KeywordsEnvironmental quality standards UK fish mercury PBDE hexachlorobenzene priority substances rivers 1 Background and introduction LegislationThe Priority Substances Directive of the EU (Directive 2008/105/EC), which entered into force in January 2009, has the objective of protecting wildlife and humans from harmful effects of chemicals identified as priority substances in surface waters and to monitor trends of these chemicals. It aims to set environmental quality standards (EQS) for a number of chemical pollutants below which no harmful effects are expected to wildlife, or humans. There is an option for member states to set biota, or sediment, standards which offer "at least the same level of protection" as the water standards. For mercury, hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD), the legislation states that water standards alone do not offer sufficient protection and therefore limits have been set for both water and biota and the legislation specifies that member states which choose not to apply the biota standard should set more stringent levels than those set out in the directive for the water standard. The EQS is set for prey tissue (wet weight) with member states being able to choose "the most appropriate indicator from among...

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“…Downs et al, 1999) or elsewhere (eg. Lepom et al, 2012), but most measured concentrations remain clearly above the EQS of 20 µg/kg ww.…”

Section: Hexachlorobutadiene (Hcbd)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discusssionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The presence of EU priority substances mercury, hexachlorobenzene, hexachlorobutadiene and PBDEs in wild fish from four English rivers

Jürgens

Johnson

Jones

et al. 2013

Science of The Total Environment

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…According to the EU Directive 2008/105/EC [3] the Environmental Quality Standard (EQS) for aquatic biota should be limited to 20 μg/kg wet weight. However, current Hg levels, i.e., in Abramis brama from major German rivers, are in the range of 73-346 μg/kg (2009) and exceed the EQS by a factor of 3.7-17.3 [4]. These concentration ranges were confirmed to be still valid in 2013 [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 71%

“…The load of THg transported to the river Main is calculated from the volume of overflow (Vsw,river) and the concentration of THg in the sewage water (Csw = 303 ng/L) using Equation (4).…”

Section: Sewage Water From Combined Sewer Overflow Tanks During Heavymentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of Sources and Sinks of Mercury in the Urban Water Cycle of Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Fricke

Götz²,

Schleyer

et al. 2015

Water

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Mercury (Hg) is still a focus of environmental research, since its levels in fish frequently exceed the Environmental Quality Standard (EQS) of 20 µg/kg for biota defined by the European Water Framework Directive (Directive 2008/105/EC). Current Hg levels in Abramis brama from German rivers are in the range of 73-346 µg/kg wet weight (2009) and exceed the EQS by a factor of 3.7-17.3. Therefore, it is important to identify the sources of Hg pollution in the aquatic environment and to develop effective strategies for reducing the input into associated river systems. The aim of the present study was to analyze Hg in the urban water cycle of the city of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Samples were taken from the river Main crosscutting the city and its tributaries. In addition, precipitation, stormwater runoff, effluents of two municipal WWTPs, and stormwater management structures such as combined sewer overflows and stormwater retention basins have been analyzed. Loads of Hg have been determined based on the measured concentrations and a Hg mass balance for the aquatic system was created. A total of 160 water samples were analyzed by cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectroscopy (CVAFS) according to US EPA Method 1631. Results from the mass balance have shown that approximately 5 kg Hg/a enter and 15 kg Hg/a leave the study area of Frankfurt am Main via the river Main. The largest amount of Hg (24.58 kg/a) throughout the urban water cycle OPEN ACCESSWater 2015, 7 6098 of Frankfurt am Main is transported via wastewater. However, municipal WWTPs in Frankfurt am Main have been identified as the largest Hg sink, since 99.7% (24.5 kg/a) of the Hg is shifted from the sewage water and stormwater during treatment into the sewage sludge. Thus, the increase of the Hg load in the river Main from 5 to 15 kg/a has to be attributed to other sources such as 3 industrial WWTPs, groundwater and non-treated stormwater runoff during heavy rain events.

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“…It has been reported that fish and other aquatic organisms can accumulate toxic metals, including mercury (2,10,12,17,24,25). Several studies have investigated the toxic effects of mercury in living organisms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury concentration in bivalve molluscs

Szkoda

Durkalec

Nawrocka

et al. 2015

Bulletin of the Veterinary Institute in Pulawy

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A total of 85 mussel samples of eight species were examined. Analysis of mercury in the freeze-dried samples was carried out by atomic absorption spectrometry method using direct mercury analyser AMA 254. The analytical procedure for determination of mercury was covered by the quality assurance programme of research and participation in national and international proficiency tests. Concentrations of total mercury in all investigated samples were found to be generally low, in the range of 0.033-0.577 mg/kg of dry weight and of 0.003-0.045 mg/kg of wet weight. The results indicate that obtained levels of mercury in bivalve molluscs are not likely to pose a risk to the health of consumers.

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Mercury levels and trends (1993–2009) in bream (Abramis brama L.) and zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) from German surface waters

Cited by 26 publications

References 31 publications

The presence of EU priority substances mercury, hexachlorobenzene, hexachlorobutadiene and PBDEs in wild fish from four English rivers

The presence of EU priority substances mercury, hexachlorobenzene, hexachlorobutadiene and PBDEs in wild fish from four English rivers

Analysis of Sources and Sinks of Mercury in the Urban Water Cycle of Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Mercury concentration in bivalve molluscs

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