Environmental occurrence and exposure of 182 POPs and pseudo-POPs in surface water in France
Résumé
A screening study of emerging contaminants was carried out in 2012 in surface waters in both metropolitan France and overseas departements (Martinique, Guadeloupe, Reunion, Mayotte and French Guiana) as part of the National Action Plan against pollution of the aquatic environment, which implies the regular updating of the lists of substances to be included in monitoring programmes. Different data were collected, such as the presence/absence of each investigated compound (concentration levels above the limit of quantification), the level of concentration observed in the aquatic environment and the degree of exceedance of predicted no effect concentration thresholds(PNEC - Predicted No-Effect Concentrations). 182 substances were selected (out of which 82 analytes to be measured in the water matrix, 134 in the sediment matrix and 48 in both matrices). The substances monitored in this campaign included a large range of contaminants (PAHs & degradation products, alkyl perfluorinated compounds, plasticisers, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, antioxidants, petrol additives, industrial products and personal care products). A total of about 400 monitoring data were collected for each substance for the water matrix and 150 for the sediment matrix. In conclusion, this screening study allowed the collection of about 50000 datasets for chemical contaminants in continental surface water. It has, however, to be noted that this study was focused on a limited number of substances/sites and it is therefore not intended to display the status of contamination of the aquatic environment by micropollutants in France. Further to this screening campaign 64 substances (44 for water and 47 for sediment) were prioritised (based on frequency of quantification, frequency and degree of PNEC exceedance and hazardous properties with a specific focus on bioaccumulation and persistency) and were selected for inclusion in the national Watch List for future monitoring in French aquatic environments (2015-2021).