Western Mediterranean coastal waters—Monitoring PCBs and pesticides accumulation in Mytilus galloprovincialis by active mussel watching: the Mytilos project

Abstract

In order to evaluate the contamination levels in the Western Mediterranean basin, the active mussel watch methodology has been applied. This methodology consists of mussel transplantation (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from non impacted areas to selected coastal areas, characterised by potential impact from the continent due to contaminating sources. The areas of interest were selected along the entire coastal development of the Western Mediterranean sea, 122 sites in total. The time of mussel caging exposure was 12 weeks. The project was co-financed in the frame of the Interreg IIIB Meddoc Programme, aimed at determining the overall chemical quality of the Mediterranean sea, consistent with the Water Framework Directive 2000/60. Several partners representative of the coastal Mediterranean Countries were involved in the Project, with the purpose of building up a common surveillance network, adopting shared methodologies. In this paper we present the results of three yearly monitoring campaigns (2004, 2005, 2006) carried out along the coasts of Italy, France, Spain, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, including the coastal environment of Baleares, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica. The contamination levels of Pesticides (DDT and its metabolites, Hexachlorocyclohexane isomers alpha and gamma) and Polychlorinated biphenyls, are reported and discussed. Statistical elaborations performed on the original data set were mainly aimed at validating the raw sample distributions, by means of the Johnson method. Both DD and PCB species frequency distributions have been approximated to appropriate theoretical distributions, belonging to the Log-normal and Bounded families. By integrating the related Probability Density Functions (p.d.f.), different accumulation values for DDT, DDD and DDE and PCB species have been estimated, corresponding to fixed percentage points of the area under the respective curves. By choosing appropriate probability level boundaries (33rd and 66th percentile), different regional zones have been ranked in terms of low, medium and high accumulation for Pesticides and PCBs.

Sea Water Contamination in the Vicinity of the Italian Minor Islands Caused by Microplastic Pollution

“…This hypothesis is confirmed by data previously published by Song et al [37]. PCBs and pesticides detected in Asinara are high compared to the literature, since Scarpato et al [38] showed medium levels of contamination in this area in the North of Sardinia. The plankton taxa did not suggest any direct connection with MP, and showed a different composition at both levels, the surface layer (MA) and the deeper one (WP2) ( Figure 5).…”

“…This is in accordance with previous studies where PCB 110 and PCB 138 showed the highest percentages in China, and PCB 138, PCB 153, PCB 180 were the most common in Greece and Portugal [35]. However, our results slightly differ from what is generally detected in environmental samples, particularly for biota and sediment, where the PCB 153 and 138 are usually the predominant ones [38]. The sum of DDs (dichloro diphenyls) for the sea surface showed values ranging from 271 ng/g for Asinara to 9.89 ng/g for Tremiti, whereas, for the deep layer, the values ranged from 91.5 ng/g for Asinara to 5.78 ng/g for Ischia.…”

Congener profiles of polychlorinated biphenyls and the effect on marine mussels at an outfall site, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

“…Khaled et al (2004) reported levels of 6.75 to 66.4 ng•g -1 ww in mussels collected along the Egyptian Red Sea coast. Scarpato et al (2010) detected total PCBs in mussels from the coasts of the western Mediterranean Sea ranging from 5 to 60 ng•g -1…”

Evolution of Chemical Pollution in Catalan Coastal Sediments

“…These methods are based mainly on United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) methods (e.g., 8270C, 1614, 1668) [19,24,[34][35][36].…”