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Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are industrial chemical compounds that were banned in the mid-1970s owing to concerns about their toxicity, persistence and potential to bioaccumulate in the environment. However, despite European and global action, releases continue through diffuse emissions to air and water and PCBs concentrations are still detected in environmental matrices. In the framework of the Regional Sea Conventions such as OSPAR or Barcelona Convention, it is proposed to monitor the concentrations of pollutants that include, at least, the following PCBs: CB 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153 and 180. A control of the described PCBs presence was performed in a set of more than 70 surficial marine sediment samples distributed in the Gulf of Biscay/Atlantic coastal area. The analysis includes an accelerated solvent extraction step (ASE) followed by detection in a gas chromatography coupled to ECD detector. The analysis was under QA/QC to guarantee the quality of the results. The results indicate a detectable presence of PCBs pointing out higher concentration in eastern stations. Background Assessment Concentration (BACs) and Environmental Assessment Criteria (EAC) are assessment criteria that in place for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in sediment and they were used to evaluate the concentrations found. Most of the sediments have concentrations close to or even smaller than the BACs but in some specific sediments the concentration of some of the PCBs exceeds the EAC indicating possible toxic effects., 3-ESMARES2-C5A1, SEGUIMIENTO DE LA CONTAMINACIÓN MARINA (DEMARCACIONES MARINAS NORATLÁNTICA, SUDATLÁNTICA Y CANARIA).

Plastic and textile products as well as electronical devices are easily flammable products and to reduce fire-related injury and property damage, such materials are commonly covered by the so-called flame retardants (FR). The brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are the largest market group because of their low cost and high-performance efficiency. Nevertheless, as these compounds are additive rather than chemically bound to the products, they can be released into the environment and because they are toxic and persistent organic chemicals and can bioaccumulate, they have become contaminants of concern detectable in the environment, in animals, and in humans. PBDEs (Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers) are a group of 209 different congeners used as FR and since 2004 banned in the EU. In spite of banned and restriction such chemicals are still detected in the environment and their monitoring necessary. In 2016 a sampling campaign was carried out covering the North Spanish Atlantic coast from the border with Portugal to the limit with France. The collected sediments were studied to determine sediment characteristics and PBDEs concentrations. Sedimentological characteristics including grain size distribution and total organic content were measured. Gas chromatography coupled to MS detector was used to perform the analytical analysis under QA/QC to guarantee the quality of the results. BDE28, BDE47, BDE66, BDE85, BDE99, BD100, BD153, BDE154 andBD183 have been determined and evaluated against Background assessment criteria (BACs) and Federal Environmental Quality Guidelines (FEQGs). Levels found demonstrate that there is still detectable presence of PBDEs in marine sediments albeit they are well below the FEQG and even frequently below BACs., SEGUIMIENTO DE LA CONTAMINACIÓN MARINA (DEMARCACIONES MARINAS NORATLÁNTICA, SUDATLÁNTICA Y CANARIA)., 3-ESMARES2-C5A1

According to Commission Decision (EU) 2017/848 under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), EU Member States (MS) shall consider, in their Descriptor 8 primary criterion (D8C1) assessments, the WFD Priority Substances (PS) and River Basin Specific Pollutants (RBSP) within coastal and territorial waters and also beyond territorial waters if these still may give rise to pollution effects. Some WFD PS might not be relevant for the marine environment in the open sea and, consequently, might be excluded from MSFD monitoring beyond the territorial waters. MS have expressed the need for a framework for the deselection of WFD PS from monitoring under the MSFD, in order to save resources. The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), collaborating within the MSFD Expert Network on Contaminants, has developed a pragmatic approach to identify the WFD PS that can be excluded from MSFD monitoring in the open sea beyond territorial waters without reducing protection of European Seas. This should preempt the need for individual MS to provide rationales for such exclusions, support comparable monitoring and assessments across national boundaries, and enable MS to focus their monitoring efforts on other (including emerging) substances that require attention.

Microplastic content (MPs) in mussels (Mytilus spp.) from two areas of the north coast of Spain was measured for the first time. Additionally, a comparison of microplastic levels observed in mussels digested with nitric acid and with potassium hydroxide was carried out. The average microplastic concentration in mussels digested with nitric acid was significantly lower than that observed in mussels digested with potassium hydroxide (p, Sí

Organotin compounds (OTCs), such as tributyltin (TBT), are persistent organic pollutants that are present in water samples (surface water, river water, sea water, waste water, etc.) because of anthropogenic activities (antifouling agents in ship paints, biocides in polymers, etc.). The toxicity and endocrine disruption potential of these chemicals have been demonstrated even at very low levels (, Program of Consolidation and Structuring of Units of Competitive Investigation of the University System of Galicia (Xunta de Galicia) potentially cofinanced by ERDF in the frame of the operative Program of Galicia 2007-2013 (reference: GRC2013-047) and by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (IMPACTA, project reference: CTM2013-48194-C3-2-R, and ARPA-ACUA, project reference: CTM2016-77945-C3-3-R).

Analysis of 35 parental and alkylated homologues of PAHs (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons) was carried out in eleven marine sediment samples collected along a central transect in the biggest Galician ría. The samples were collected using a box-core dredge and, after freeze-drying, were kept frozen until analysis.The sediments were extracted by PLE (Pressurized Liquid Extraction) procedure and the quantification of PAHs was performed using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC–MS) with the aid of deuterated PAH internal standards. The total concentration of studied PAHs (R35PAHs) ranged from 44.8 to 7901 ng g_1 dry weight (d.w.). The highest PAH concentrations were found in sediments collected near the harbour (7901 ng g_1) and the cleanest positions were located in the outer zone of the ría. To date, these results are the first data presented in the area so they could be used for regular monitoring and control of future pollution episodes., SI

Recientemente, en el contexto del proyecto INDEMARES, se conseguía cartografiar el complejo sistema formado por cañones y situado a 7 millas de la costa siguiendo una línea oblicua a 6º Oeste conocido como el sistema de cañones de Avilés. Con ello se aumentaba el conocimiento de la zona describiéndose un cañón que partiendo de una profundidad de 140m en la plataforma alcanza los 4750 m de profundidad en su desembocadura en la planicie abisal del Golfo de Vizcaya. Durante las mismas campañas que permitieron el cartografiado y realizadas en los meses de abril y julio de 2010 se recogieron también hasta un total de 33 muestras de sedimentos superficiales con ayuda de una draga tipo box corer que fueron congeladas a bordo. Estas muestras han sido analizadas mediante cromatografía de gases acoplada a espectrometría de masas, empleando compuestos deuterados como estándares internos, obteniendo resultados analíticos para 28 compuestos de hidrocarburos aromáticos policíclicos (PAH), e incluyendo por primera vez PAH sustituidos. Experimentalmente se realizó extracción en Soxhlet y posterior cuantificación por GC-MS encontrándose una concentración total (suma de 28 PAH) en el rango entre 55,4 y 2555,7 ng/g p.s. La abundancia relativa de PAH sustituidos frente a sus homólogos no sustituidos es adecuada para la diferenciación entre fuentes pirolíticas y petrogénicas al ser los compuestos no sustituidos termodinámicamente más estables que sus homólogos con sustituyentes alquilo, de modo que en productos de combustiones formados a altas temperaturas. Se observa una disminución en los PAH con sustituyentes, por el contrario la presencia de PAH con sustituyentes metilados es marcador de petróleo, formado a temperaturas más bajas. Con el objetivo de identificar las fuentes causantes del aporte de hidrocarburos se estudiaron diferentes ratios de PAH sustituidos frente a sus homólogos no sustituidos: metilfenantrenos/ fenantreno (MP/P); metilcrisenos+metilbenzo(a)antraceno/criseno+benzo(a)antraceno (MC/C) y metilPAH/PAH (MPAH/PAH). Publicaciones previas marcan los valores MP/P=0.4 y MC/C=1 como límite por debajo de los cuales los PAHs provendrían únicamente de procesos de combustión. De este modo, para las muestras estudiadas se identifica, como fuente principal, la quema de carbón y madera junto con la de combustibles fósiles, descartándose, en principio, aportes de petróleo crudo.

The species more widely used for marine pollution studies is mussel, Mytilus spp., as it is a filter feeder, sessile, easy to get and present in most worldwide coasts. However, sometimes it is necessary to have an alternative for areas where mussels are scarce or even absent. Patella spp. could be a useful substitute to Mytilus as these organisms have already been used in some pollution studies (Bartolomé, 2011) and both groups have similar characteristics except for the feeding strategy that in limpets is based on grazing on the small algae that grow on the rocks where they live. For this study, four sampling sites where selected: two in Galicia (Ría de Arousa and Ría de Ferrol) and two in the Bay of Biscay (Suances and Fuenterrabía). In the four sampling sites both mussels and limpets were collected and 12 parent PAHs were analysed by means of HPLC and fluorescence detector with programmable wavelength (Viñas 2002). The method is subject to a strict quality control that guarantees the quality of the data. Mussels always present a higher PAH content that limpets sampled in the same area. When comparing the value for the sum of PAHs it is shown that the maximum value measured in limpets (26.0 µg/kg d.w. in Arousa) is less than the minimum value measured in mussels (63.7 µg/kg d.w. in Fuenterrabía). However, the sites pointed as more polluted using limpets coincide with the ones that are pointed out using mussels and the other way around. The individual PAH distribution pattern also presents some differences in both species mainly due to the phenathrene proportion that is higher in limpets than in mussels and this is clearer in the Bay of Biscay area. The main conclusion of the study is that there is no direct conversion factor between the PAH burden in both species but it could be possible to estimate the pollution status of an area using limpets. To compare levels between species it would be necessary to do some more work including more sampling sites where both organisms are sampled.

This Technical Guidance Document on Biota Monitoring (the Implementation of EQSbiota) aims to facilitate the implementation of environmental quality standards (EQS) in biota under the Water Framework Directive by addressing in particular the sampling strategies appropriate for monitoring programmes designed to assess compliance with biota EQS. It is Guidance Document No. 32 in the series of guidance documents prepared to support the Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) for the Water Framework Directive. It elaborates extensively on the content of Guidance Document No. 25 on Chemical Monitoring in Sediment and Biota under the Water Framework Directive, and is complemented by Guidance Document No. 33, the Technical Guidance Document on Analytical Methods for Biota Monitoring. Guidance Documents 32 and 33 together address the requirement for guidance on biota monitoring mentioned in Article 3(8a) of Directive 2008/105/EC as amended by Directive 2013/39/EU. The original Directive 2008/105/EC included biota standards for mercury, hexachlorobenzene and hexachlorobutadiene. In Directive 2013/39/EU, biota EQS were introduced for three other existing priority substances (fluoranthene, polyaromatic hydrocarbons and brominated diphenylethers), and set for four new priority substances (dicofol, perfluorooctane sulfonic acid and its derivatives, hexabromocyclododecane, and heptachlor/heptachlor epoxide). This guidance document takes into account the fact that trend monitoring in sediment and/or biota is required for several other priority substances as specified in Article 3(6), and indicates how trend monitoring data can be used to check compliance with biota EQS, but does not elaborate on trend monitoring as such. This document constitutes guidance and Member States are therefore not legally required to follow the recommendations contained in it. Member States are, however, required to use methods compliant with the requirements of the Environmental Quality Standards Directive 2008/105/EC and the Quality Assurance/Quality Control Directive 2009/90/EC.

Póster presentado al II Congreso Internacional de Ingeniería Civil y Territorio. Agua, Cultura y Sociedad. Vigo, 20 y 21 de Mayo de 2013

Concentrations of parent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were studied in wild mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from the Cantabrian coast of Spain after the oil spill produced by the tanker Prestige. Samples were collected in April and June 2003 from the intertidal zone at five sites between Luarca (Asturias) and Igueldo (Basque Country). The PAHs were quantified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection. An increase in the sum of 13 PAHs was observed at all sampling stations in April 2003 relative to a previous survey carried out in October 2000, and the most affected sites were Castro-Urdiales (Cantabria) and Igueldo. In June 2003, a decrease in PAH levels was observed at Avilés (Asturias) and Castro-Urdiales, compared with the April survey, while a small increase was recorded at Igueldo and Bilbao-Azcorri (Basque Country), possibly due to the late arrival of small fuel slicks

Ten global harbours were assessed for sediment quality by quantifying the magnitude of anthropogenic change and ecological risk. Anthropogenic change (enrichment) was high for Derwent River and Sydney estuary, moderate for Santander Harbour, Rio de Janeiro and Dublin Port, slight for Hong Kong, minimal for Darwin. All 10 enrichment indices used showed similar results. Derwent River sediment was rated at high ecological risk, followed by Sydney and Santander estuaries with moderate risk. Auckland and Darwin sediments exhibited minimal ecological risk and sediment in the remaining harbours (Dublin, Hong Kong, Ravenna, Ria de Vigo and Rio de Janeiro) were assessed at slight ecological risk. The extraordinary variety of environments and types/quantities/qualities of data investigated resulted in as much a critique and development of methodology, as an assessment of human impact, including unique techniques for elemental normalisation and contaminant classification. Recommendations for an improved technical framework for sediment quality assessment are provided., Sí