DISTRIBUTION OF CHEMICAL POLLUTING FACTORS IN SOUTH ITALIAN SEAS ALONG CALABRIA COASTAL WATERS (LOW TYRRHENIAN-SEA, HIGH IONIAN-SEA AND STRAITS-OF-MESSINA)

This report is dealing with the presence of Dissolved/Dispersed Petrol eum Hydrocarbons (DDPH) synthetic detergents (ABS) and Total Phenols ( T-PHE) in 150 stations positioned along the Calabria coastal waters as well as off-shore. Data were gathered during four different seasonal cruises (from 1990 to 1992). In order to identify areas of possible en vironmental risk threshold values based on background mean concentrati ons present in the Mediterranean Sea were determined for each paramete r. DDPH exceed the concentration limit of 0.4 ppb in areas near urban settlements only and are due mainly to untreated municipal sewages. In winter and spring high values were also registered in the mouths of s ome rivers that carry polluting substances of different origin. Genera lly the values of ABS resulted to be below the 3 ppb limit but measure d up to 127 ppb in well localized areas and were linked T-PHE and DDPH , thus indicating that their origin is primarily due to industrial sew ages. Concentration of Total Phenols almost always showed values below the threshold (4.0 ppb); the highest values (about 50 ppb) presented a similar distribution as that of DDPH. In conclusion, the overall env ironmental conditions are quite satisfactory, except for some localize d areas where sometimes parameters exceeded limits simultaneously.