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Annual dynamics of persistent organic pollutants in various aquatic matrices: a case study in the Morava River in Zlín district, Czech Republic

  • SEDIMENTS, SEC 1 • SEDIMENT QUALITY AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT • RESEARCH ARTICLE
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Abstract

Purpose

A multi-compartment monitoring study was performed to characterize the effect of environmental variables, such as temperature and water flow as well as sediment characteristics, on the distribution and transport of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in a dynamic river system during 1 year in an industrial region in central Europe.

Materials and methods

Waterborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were assessed over a period of 1 year at five sampling sites in the Morava River in the Czech Republic. Contaminants were measured monthly in riverbed sediments, freshly deposited sediments, water samples and passive samplers.

Results and discussion

Sediments are the main carrier of POPs in the river. Distinguishable patterns of PAHs, OCPs and PCBs in sediment indicate that their origin is from distinct sources and different transport pathways. The PAHs were identified as the dominant contaminant group of compounds with a mean concentration in sediment of 5,900 μg kg−1. Such concentrations are up to 10 times higher than in the Danube River, into which Morava drains. In contrast, mean concentrations of PCBs, hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and its breakdown products (DDTs) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) of 6.0, 0.4, 4.2 and 6.0 μg kg1, respectively, are similar to those in the Danube. With some exceptions, no significant difference in composition of surficial riverbed sediments and those collected using sediment traps was observed. Despite the presence of potential local pollutant sources, the differences in contaminant concentrations between sites in the region were in most cases not significant. Variations in POP concentrations in sediments are mainly induced by high flow events, whereas seasonal variability was not observed.

Conclusions

The changes in contaminant concentrations in Morava River sediments are induced by episodic high flow events that cause erosion of contaminant-containing particles and their deposition at suitable downstream sites.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Czech Ministry of Education (LO1214 and LM2011028).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Sciences, Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment RECETOX, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, pavilion A29, 625 00, Brno, Czech Republic

    Roman Prokeš, Branislav Vrana, Klára Komprdová & Jana Klánová

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  1. Roman Prokeš
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  2. Branislav Vrana
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  3. Klára Komprdová
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  4. Jana Klánová
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Branislav Vrana.

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Prokeš, R., Vrana, B., Komprdová, K. et al. Annual dynamics of persistent organic pollutants in various aquatic matrices: a case study in the Morava River in Zlín district, Czech Republic. J Soils Sediments 14, 1738–1752 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-014-0931-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-014-0931-3

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