Passive sampling and passive dosing: novel approaches for the holistic assessment of marine sediment contamination by hydrophobic organic pollutants

Abstract

The intensive use of the North Sea area through offshore activities, sand mining, and the spreading of dredged material is leading to increasing pollution of the ecosystem by chemicals such as hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs). Due to their toxicological properties and their ability to accumulate in the environment, HOCs are of particular concern. The contaminants partition between aqueous (pore water, overlying water) and solid phases (sediment, suspended particulate matter, and biota) within these systems. The accumulated contaminants in the sediment are of major concern for benthic organisms, who are in close contact with sediment and interstitial water. It is thus particularly important to better understand how contaminants interact with biota, as these animals may contribute to trophic transfer through the food web. Furthermore, sediments are a crucial factor for the water quality of aquatic systems. They not only represent a sink for contaminants but also determine environmental fate, bioavailability, and toxicity. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) was introduced to protect our marine environment across Europe and includes the assessment of pollutant concentrations in the total sediment, which, however, rarely reflects the actual exposure situation. The consideration of the pollutant concentrations in the pore water is not implemented, although this is needed for the evaluation of bioavailability and risk assessment. For this reason, special attention is given to further development, implementation, and validation of pollutant monitoring methods that can determine the bioavailable fraction in sediment pore water. For risk assessment purposes, it is furthermore important to use biological indicators in addition to classical analytics to determine the effect of pollutants on organisms. The main objective of this thesis was to gain insight into the pollution load and the potential risk of hydrophobic organic chemicals (HOCs) in the sediment of the North Sea and to evaluate these results with regard to possible risks for benthic organisms and the ecosystem. The following five aims are covered within these studies to gain a holistic assessment of sediment contamination: 1. Assessment of the pore water concentrations of PAHs and PCBs 2. Determination of the bioturbation potential by macrofauna analysis 3. Application of the SPME method on biological tissue 4. Assessment of recreated environmental mixtures in passive dosing bioassays 5. Development of SPME method for DDT in sediments The thesis is comprised of three main studies supported by three additional studies ...