Elsevier

Environment International

Volume 30, Issue 8, October 2004, Pages 995-1007
Environment International

Evaluation of the pollution of the surface waters of Greece from the priority compounds of List II, 76/464/EEC Directive, and other toxic compounds

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2004.04.001Get rights and content

Abstract

The pollution of the surface waters of Greece from the priority compounds of 76/464/EEC Directive was evaluated. The occurrence of 92 toxic compounds, 64 of which belong to priority compounds of List II, candidates for List I, of 76/464/EEC Directive, was studied in surface waters and wastewater through the developed network of 62 sampling stations, which covers the whole Greek territory. The analytical determination was performed by Purge and Trap-Gas chromatography-Mass spectrometry for volatile and semivolatile organic compounds (VOCs), Gas Chromatography-Electron Capture Detection for organochlorine insecticides, Gas Chromatography-Nitrogen Phosphorous Detection for organophosphorous insecticides, High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Photodiode Array Detection for herbicides, and Electrothermal Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES) for metals and the toluene extractable organotin compounds. The concentrations of VOCs and insecticides detected in the surface waters of Greece were very low, whereas the concentrations of herbicides and metals ranged generally at moderate levels. VOCs were detected almost exclusively in the rivers and very rarely in the lakes, while the frequency of occurrence of insecticides, herbicides and metals was similar for rivers and lakes. Water quality objectives (WQO) and emission limit values (ELV) have been laid down in national legal framework for a number of compounds detected in the samples, in order to safeguard the quality of surface waters from any future deterioration.

Introduction

Substances posing health risks to human and to the aquatic environment are divided, according to 76/464/EEC Directive, in two Lists. Member States of the European Community are required to eliminate pollution caused by substances belonging to List I, and to reduce pollution caused by substances belonging to List II of the Directive (EEC, 1982). In Greece, determination of the substances of List I of 76/464/EEC Directive in the surface waters has been performed and reported in previous studies Kostopoulou et al., 2000, Golfinopoulos et al., 2003, Lekkas et al., 2003a. The aim of the present investigation was to evaluate the pollution of the Greek surface waters from the compounds of List II, 76/464/EEC Directive, and assist the safeguarding of their quality through legislative measures.

The selection of the investigated compounds followed a study for the possible existence in the Greek surface waters of compounds belonging to List II of 76/464/EEC Directive (Lekkas, 1998). The initial identification of compounds covered the examination of the possible discharges of the Greek chemical industries and the use of toxic compounds which are imported. Based on the data of this study, the compounds listed in Table 1 were selected for further investigation. In addition, the compounds listed in Table 2 were investigated, although not included in the priority compounds of List II, 76/464/EEC Directive, due to their importance for water quality USEPA, 1979, USEPA, 1998, Roberson et al., 1995, WHO, 1995, Voulvoulis et al., 2002, Konstantinou and Albanis, 2004.

The investigation for the above compounds was implemented by establishing a monitoring network throughout the whole country, covering the most significant water bodies where representative sampling stations were located. The location of these sampling stations took into account the possible emission sources of the relevant compounds. Sampling campaigns were executed seasonally, and the analysis of samples was conducted in the Water and Air Quality Laboratory, Department of Environmental Studies, University of the Aegean, where analytical methods for the determination of volatile and semivolatile organic compounds (VOCs), insecticides, herbicides, metals and organotins have been developed and optimized (Lekkas et al., 2003b). Several compounds belonging to all chemical categories studied were detected in the samples. Although their concentration levels were generally low, their presence in the waters revealed the need to safeguard their quality from future deterioration through legislative measures.

Section snippets

Design of monitoring network

The monitoring network for priority compounds of List II, candidate compounds for List I, of 76/464/EEC Directive in the surface waters of Greece includes 53 sampling stations in 11 rivers (total catchment area 78,390 km2), 7 lakes (total surface area 286.095 km2) and 4 seawater areas (Table 3). Two sampling stations were established in each river, the first near the springs and the second at the estuary region (Nikolaou et al., 2000). Two sampling stations were also established for each

Results and discussion

The annual mean concentrations determined in the Greek surface waters during October 1998–September 1999 are presented in Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3 for VOCs, insecticides and herbicides and in Fig. 4a and b for metals. During calculation of the annual mean values, wherever the concentration of a compound was not detectable, it was assigned the value of the DL for this compound. The range of concentrations detected in samples from rivers, lakes and wastewater treatment plants is presented in Table 4

Conclusions

The pollution of the Greek surface waters from compounds of List II, 76/464/EEC Directive, and other toxic compounds was evaluated by sampling and analysis from a monitoring network covering the most important water bodies and municipal wastewater treatment plants of the Greek territory.

The concentrations of VOCs and insecticides detected in the surface waters of Greece were very low, whereas the concentrations of herbicides and metals ranged generally at moderate levels and were elevated in a

Acknowledgements

Financial support of this research by the Greek Ministry of Environment is acknowledged.

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