Elżbieta Niemirycz

Concentrations and profiles of PCDD/Fs in sediments of major Polish rivers and the Gdansk Basin--Baltic Sea.

The present state of contamination of bottom sediments in southern part of the Baltic Sea with PCDD/Fs was compared to the findings made for the north-western and eastern Baltic Sea coastal areas of Finland, Sweden and Denmark. The extent of the study area--from marine the Gdańsk Basin, the lower Oder and Vistula Rivers up till Włocławek reservoir--allowed to obtain the sediment samples with diversified properties. Dioxins concentrations in sediments examined in the Polish costal area allows us to evaluate this zone as relatively less contaminated. Higher dioxin concentration has been found in Wloclawek Dam Reservoir. Differences in congener patterns and temporal changes in marine sediment profiles were examined. The highest concentrations of tetra- and penta-congeners still remain in the surface layer of Gdansk Deep, whereas the decline in concentrations of these most toxic congeners, have been observed in the sediments from some other parts of the Baltic coast. Excess concentration of dioxins in sediments has a great impact on human being due to special ability of accumulation in the trophic chain as well as in water (fishes) and land (milk, meat).

The Microtox® biological test: Application in toxicity evaluation of surface waters and sediments in Poland

The Microtox® biological test: Application in toxicity evaluation of surface waters and sediments in Poland Research into the suitability of Microtox® for the evaluation of toxicity of surface waters and bottom sediments in Poland was conducted. Water bodies of various pollution levels were tested, including the Odra River and its tributaries, the Lower Vistula River, the Kashubian Lake District and the Gulf of Gdańsk, using a Microtox® Model 500 analyser (Microbics Corporation, USA). The majority of tested surface water samples were found to be apparently non-toxic. However, 75% of the bottom sediment samples were found to be highly toxic (EC50>2%). These results indicate that the Microtox® test is suitable for evaluating the toxicity of bottom sediments, in which pollutants tend to accumulate. It seems, however, that Microtox® lacks the sensitivity to be of use in analyzing water quality. The relationship between the toxicity of analysed sediments and their organic content was examined.

Factors determining the accumulation of pentachlorophenol — a precursor of dioxins in bottom sediments of the Gulf of Gdańsk (Baltic Sea)

Pentachlorophenol (PCP) and its derivatives are considered to be the precursors of dioxins, thus their concentrations in environmental compartments remain relatively correlated. Unlimited production and usage of PCP in recent decades may have posed a potential ecological threat to marine ecosystems due to uncontrolled discharge of this contaminant into the Vistula River and finally into the Gulf of Gdańsk. Since there are no data on PCP concentration in sediments of the southern part of the Baltic Sea, the level of contamination has been examined and possible influence of sediment properties in the Gulf of Gdańsk on the accumulation intensification has been investigated. The study has resulted in the evaluation of an efficient analytical procedure characterized by a low detection limit (LOD<1 ng g−1 d.w.). Instrumental analyses have been supplemented with Microtox® bioassay in order to assess the sediment toxicity. The obtained concentrations in collected samples varied from below the LOD in sandy sediments to 179.31 ng g−1 d.w. in silty sediments, exceeding the PNEC value of 25 ng g−1 d.w. (Predicted No Effect Concentration) estimated for the Baltic Sea (Muir & Eduljee 1999). It has been proven that properties of sediments from the Gulf of Gdańsk, including pH, Eh of bottom water, the content of water and organic matter, affect the rate of PCP accumulation. High toxicity has been recorded in the bottom sediments of the Gdańsk Deep but no statistically significant correlation between PCP concentration and the sediment toxicity has been observed. Analysis of PCP concentration distribution in sediment cores revealed that the surface layer is the most polluted one, which indicates a continuous inflow of PCP from the Vistula River. Horizontal PCP distribution in the sediment from the Gdańsk Deep reveals variability similar to that observed for highly chlorinated dioxins (Niemirycz & Jankowska 2011).

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and pentachlorophenol (PCP) in bottom sediments of the Port of Gdansk

Combustion processes are considered to be the main source of the dioxin emission in the Baltic region. Pentachlorophenol (PCP) and its derivatives, pentachlorophenyl laurate (PCPL) and sodium pentachlorophenate (NaPCP) are known as precursors of dioxins. The research was conducted to obtain the first data on the concentration of PCDD/Fs and PCP in the bottom sediments of the Port of Gdansk. Toxicity (the Microtox® test) as well as several sediment parameters have been examined.In the surface layer of bottom sediments from the Port of Gdansk, all congeners of PCDD/Fs have been detected using GC-MS/MS. The highest concentration was obtained for OCDD (224.0–271.0 pg g−1 d.w.) and HpCDD (51.0–36.0 pg g−1 d.w.). The content of ΣPCDDs prevailed over ΣPCDFs. This may indicate that anthropogenic pollution from the land-based thermal sources has the strongest impact on the concentration of dioxins in the port sediments. The concentration of 17 dioxin congeners (WHO-TEQ) did not exceed the probable effect level (PEL) of 21.5 pg TEQ g−1 d.w. The concentration of PCP ranged from bellow the LOD (< 0.85 ng g−1 d.w.) to 12.4 ng g−1 d.w.The positive correlation between toxicity and physico-chemical properties of the analyzed bottom sediments confirms that these parameters are important in terms of environment contamination.

Migration of pentachlorophenol in artificial and natural sediments of Puck Bay

Abstract Pentachlorophenol (PCP) is an anthropogenic substance, toxic to humans. The major source of this compound in the environment are wastes from factories producing PCP and materials (textiles, wood) treated with PCP. In 2008, a dossier was prepared to support the inclusion of PCP in Annex I to the Protocol of the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution on Persistent Organic Pollutants. The draft decision to add PCP along with its salts (NaPCP) and esters (PCPL) in Annex A of the Stockholm Convention was adopted during the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention in 2015. The aim of present study was to assess the status of contamination in Puck Bay with this harmful substance. The surface bottom sediments of Puck Bay were contaminated with pentachlorophenol to varying degrees, ranging from 17.4 ± 5.6 ng g-1 d.w. to 230.1 ± 20.8 ng g-1 d.w. The majority of samples collected from deepwater areas of Puck Bay were contaminated with PCP above 25 ng g-1 d.w. (value of Predicted No Effect Concentration). It has been assessed that bottom currents occurring in Puck Bay can affect sediments deposited at the Gdynia dumping site.

Geostatistical methods for estimation of toxicity of marine bottom sediments based on the Gdańsk Basin area

Toxicity assessment of environmental compartments, in particular sediments as a highly complex matrix, provides a more direct way to assess potential adverse effects of pollutants present in a sample in contrast to chemical analysis estimating only a quantitative level of xenobiotics. Interactions between chemicals, formations of derivatives and the influence of chemical properties of sediments such as the organic matter content causing the intensified sorption of hydrophobic pollutants suggest that a traditional approach to the sediment quality, based only on chemical analysis may be insufficient. The presented study describes the vertical and horizontal variability of toxicity of Gdańsk Basin sediments. Based on 128 surface sediments samples and using geostatistical methods, a prediction map for the EC50 parameter was created. This allowed the evaluation of the toxicity of the surface sediment layer at any selected point of the study area. The applied analysis can be functional for many other locations worldwide. In the present study, the hypothesis about the location of toxic sediments in the vicinity of Gdańsk Deep, outer Puck Bay and close to Vistula River mouth was further confirmed.

The role of lakes in inflow of water and biogenic substances in the polish part of the southern Baltic Sea

Polish rivers, which make up 20% of the Baltic Sea’s catchment area, transport a load of nitrogen and phosphorus compounds into the sea. Theoretically, this load should be strongly correlated with the amount of water flowing in those rivers. However, this is not the case, especially in terms of the phosphorus compounds, since most of them come from point source pollution. The outflow load is also significantly influenced by nonpoint source pollution from farmland, which is very difficult to quantify. About 50% of nitrogen and 30% of phosphorus appear to come from nonpoint source pollution. It is important to realize that the load from nonpoint source pollution also includes the load of phosphorus and nitrogen transformed by lakes. Only recently, however, has this issue been mentioned in the specialist literature. In Polish studies on lake balance this remains a marginal issue. A limited number of observations indicate that lakes are capable of both limiting and increasing the load (mainly from the bottom sediments). This article presents some data on this issue which suggest that the roles of lakes in the transformation of the load of biogenic substances may be significant, but diverse.

Optimisation of sample pre-treatment method for the determination of triclosan in marine sediments by high-performance liquid chromatography and marine benthic quality assessment in the southern Baltic Sea

ABSTRACT This study comprises optimisation of sample preparation and HPLC analytical procedure for the determination of a personal care product ingredient, triclosan (TCS), in marine sediments. The testing of several varying pre-treatment parameters confirmed that ultrasonic extraction is an effective method for the isolation of TCS from marine sediments, and that the choice of extraction solvent appeared to be of major importance. The selection of the mobile-phase composition and the absorption wavelength was made for the high-performance liquid chromatography analysis step. Based on the validated method, a preliminary assessment of the benthic ecosystem quality with regards to TCS contamination has been demonstrated in the southern Baltic Sea – a semi-enclosed sea, characterised by poor water exchange, thus particularly susceptible to anthropopression. TCS has been identified and quantified in situ in marine bottom sediments, sediment dwelling isopod – Saduria entomon L. and estimated in silico in pore waters based on the equilibrium partition theory in order to assess the potential exposure and uptake from the aqueous phase. TCS concentrations identified in the bottom sediments of the Gdansk Basin, as the natural habitat for studied S.entomon L., appear to be threatening to the benthic environment. Particularly when considering S. entomon L. as a major nutrition source for cod (Gadus morhua) undergoing the feminisation process, since the recent studies prove TCS to have a potential to induce critical alterations in the endocrine system of marine ichthyofauna.

Partition of pentachlorophenol (PCP) into particulate and dissolved phases in the waters of the Vistula River mouth at the Gulf of Gdansk

Abstract The Vistula River plays an important role in the supply of autochthonous and allochthonous material to the Gulf of Gdansk. The suspended particulate matter (SPM) of fluvial origin is considered to constitute a specific sorbent for halogenated organic compounds due to their lipophilic characteristics and relative solubility. Because there are many factors affecting the input of SPM into the estuarine environment of the Gulf of Gdansk, e.g. hydrological characteristics of the Vistula River, it became necessary to verify whether the same processes may affect a discharge of organic contaminants. The study presents an approach to the assessment of temporal trends in SPM concentration in the Vistula River discharged into the Gulf of Gdansk as well as the analysis of pentachlorophenol (PCP), a commonly used agricultural biocide, a precursor of dioxins in either dissolved or particulate phases in the river (the Vistula River) and sea waters (the Gulf of Gdansk). The study revealed that the hydrological characteristics appear to influence a load of SPM. However, the discharge of PCP is additionally related to the environmental conditions, physicochemical properties of the compound and the sorbent, affecting the partitioning of PCP into dissolved and particulate phases.