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

Type Article
Date 2010-04
Language English
Author(s) Scarpato Alfonso1, Romanelli Giulia1, Galgani FrancoisORCID2, Andral Bruno2, Amici Marina1, Giordano Pierpaolo1, Caixach Josep4, Calvo Monica4, Antonio Campillo Juan3, Benedicto Albadalejo Jose3, Cento Alessandro7, Benbrahim Samir8, Sammari Cherif9, Deudero Salud5, 6, Boulahdid Mostefa10, Giovanardi Franco1
Affiliation(s) 1 : Ist Super Prot Ric & Ambientale Ex ICRAM, I-00166 Rome, Italy.
2 : IFREMER, Lab Environm Ressource Prov Azur Cors, F-83507 La Seyne Sur Mer, France.
3 : Ctr Oceanog Murcia, Inst Espanol Oceanog, San Pedro Del Pinatar 30740, Spain.
4 : CSIC, IIQAB, Spanish Natl Res Council, Chem & Environm Res Inst Barcelona, ES-08034 Barcelona, Spain.
5 : UIB, CSIC, Lab Biol Marina, Palma de Mallorca 07122, Spain.
6 : UIB, CSIC, GOI IMEDEA, Palma de Mallorca 07122, Spain.
7 : PSTS, I-95030 Catania, Sicilia, Italy.
8 : INRH, Casablanca 04, Morocco.
9 : INSTM, Tunis 2060, Tunisia.
10 : Inst Natl Sci Mer & Amenagement Littoral, Algiers 16320, Algeria.
Source Journal Of Environmental Monitoring (1464-0325) (Royal Society of Chemistry), 2010-04 , Vol. 12 , N. 4 , P. 924-935
DOI 10.1039/b920455e
WOS© Times Cited 34
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 a and g) 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.
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Scarpato Alfonso, Romanelli Giulia, Galgani Francois, Andral Bruno, Amici Marina, Giordano Pierpaolo, Caixach Josep, Calvo Monica, Antonio Campillo Juan, Benedicto Albadalejo Jose, Cento Alessandro, Benbrahim Samir, Sammari Cherif, Deudero Salud, Boulahdid Mostefa, Giovanardi Franco (2010). Western Mediterranean coastal waters-Monitoring PCBs and pesticides accumulation in Mytilus galloprovincialis by active mussel watching: the Mytilos project. Journal Of Environmental Monitoring, 12(4), 924-935. Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.1039/b920455e , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00003/11381/