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Following the closure of the last hard coal mines in Germany, pumping is no longer necessary. However, the resulting rise of mine water can affect the environment. Laws have been enacted at the European and national level to protect properties. Within the framework of the approval procedure, it must be determined whether the cessation of pumping may cause unacceptable effects, including water pollution. With regard to water protection, the European Union has issued the Water Framework and Groundwater Directives, which have been implemented into German national law. These contain the prohibition of deterioration and the requirement for improvement, with the aim of maintaining or achieving good ecological and chemical status. However, before the target mine water level is reached, the water does not need to comply, since although the pumps are switched off, no mine water is being discharged. This also rules out permit requirements, which only go into effect when the target mine water level has been reached and mine water is discharging. Obviously, however, detailed planning before then is necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bioaccumulating contaminants in surface waters are preferably monitored in fish for assessing the related risks to and via the aquatic environment. Consequently, the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires a monitoring of certain priority substances such as mercury, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid and its derivatives (PFOS), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDD) and polychlorinated dioxins/dioxin-like compounds (dioxins) in freshwater and coastal fish. Tissue levels have to comply with biota environmental quality standards (EQSs) given in Directive 2013/39/EU. EQSs are justified either by risks for human health (assessed on the basis of fillet) or secondary poisoning of wildlife (based on whole fish). To support the practical implementation of the WFD biota monitoring in Germany, comparative investigations of target fish species caught at six sites were performed. Results: At each site, at least three fish species listed in a national guidance document were sampled (e.g., chub, roach, bream, perch). Beside biometric data, concentrations of seven priority substances were determined in pooled fillet and carcass samples and whole fish data were calculated. The EQSs for PBDE and mercury were exceeded in nearly all fillet and whole fish samples. PFOS was above the EQS at several sites especially in perch, while HCB exceeded the EQS only at one site (Elbe River). All fillet and whole fish samples complied with the EQSs for dioxins and HBCDD. Based on wet weight concentrations of a homogeneous set of 20 composite sample pairs of 3–5 year-old fish, the following fillet-to-whole fish conversion factors were derived: mercury 0.81, PBDE 5.4, HCB 3.6, PFOS 2.7, dioxins 5.3, and HBCDD 1.8. Conclusions: Recommendations on selection of target fish species, age or tissue given by EU and national guidance documents are practical and feasible. However, further adjustments of the samplings such as the determination of site-specific length–age relationships are required from both ecological and risk assessment perspectives. The derived conversion factors allow the translation of fillet-to-whole fish concentrations (and vice versa), and thus the EQS compliance assessment for the appropriate tissue (fillet for human health, whole fish for wildlife risks) if only one tissue is investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Mercury concentrations have been analysed in bream (Abramis brama L.) and zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) collected at 17 freshwater sites in Germany from 1993–2009 and 1994–2009, respectively, within the German Environmental Specimen programme. Mercury concentrations in bream ranged from 21 to 881ngg−1 wet weight with lowest concentrations found at the reference site Lake Belau and highest in fish from the river Elbe and its tributaries. Statistical analysis revealed site-specific differences and significant decreasing temporal trends in mercury concentrations at most of the sampling sites. The decrease in mercury levels in bream was most pronounced in fish from the river Elbe and its tributary Mulde, while in fish from the river Saale mercury levels increased. Temporal trends seem to level off in recent years. Mercury concentrations in zebra mussels were much lower than those in bream according to their lower trophic position and varied by one order of magnitude from 4.1 to 42ngg−1 wet weight (33–336ngg−1 dry weight). For zebra mussels, trend analyses were performed for seven sampling sites at the rivers Saar and Elbe of which three showed significant downward trends. There was a significant correlation of the geometric mean concentrations in bream and zebra mussel over the entire study period at each sampling site (Pearson’s correlation coefficient=0.892, p =0.00002). A comparison of the concentrations in bream with the environmental quality standard (EQS) of 20ngg−1 wet weight set for mercury in biota by the EU showed that not a single result was in compliance with this limit value, not even those from the reference site. Current mercury levels in bream from German rivers exceed the EQS by a factor 4.5–20. Thus, piscivorous top predators are still at risk of secondary poisoning by mercury exposure via the food chain. It was suggested focusing monitoring of mercury in forage fish (trophic level 3 or 4) for compliance checking with the EQS for biota and considering the age dependency of mercury concentrations in fish in the monitoring strategy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Cyclic volatile methylsiloxanes (cVMS) are widely applied chemicals used as intermediates in the production of silicon polymers or as ingredients in personal care products. cVMS are under scrutiny due to their environmental properties and their potential for long-range atmospheric transport, persistence and food web magnification. In 2018, the cVMS octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4), decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5) and dodecamethylcyclohexasiloxane (D6) were identified as Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) under the European REACH regulation. To obtain current data on the presence of cVMS in German waters, the spatial and temporal occurrence of D4, D5 and D6 in fillets of bream from major rivers archived in the German Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB) was analyzed with a GC-ICP-MS/MS coupling method. The spatial comparison of 17 sites for the year 2017 revealed that highest cVMS burdens occurred in samples from the Saar river (near to the French/German border). cVMS levels in fish from a lake in northern Germany did not exceed the limits of detection. For selected sites, time series covering the period from 1995 to 2017 were investigated. In most years D5 concentrations in fish were clearly higher than the observed D4 and D6 concentrations. Overall maximum D4 and D5 concentrations (about 320 and 7600 ng g -1 wet weight, respectively) were found at one Saar site in 2009. In three of five analyzed time series D5 concentrations peaked 2007-2011. In recent years, cVMS levels in fish decreased at almost all sites. To allow an assessment of the relevance of the detected cVMS fish concentrations these were compared to environmental quality standards (EQS) for D4 and D5 which were recently enacted in the context of the Swedish implementation of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). The D5 EQS in fish was exceeded at four sites in several years in the investigated period and in the Saar even till 2017., (Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)