VOLATILE HALOGENATED COMPOUNDS AND CHLOROPHENOLS IN THE SKAGERRAK

A total of 680 seawater samples were collected and analysed for volati le halogenated organic compounds, and 280 seawater samples were analys ed for chlorinated phenols in the Skagerrak. The sampling was done alo ng three transects along the Danish west coast on five occasions durin g the years 1991 to 1993. Pentachlorophenol (PCP) was the only chlorop henol detected on all occasions, which implies that it is transported as a dissolved species rather than particle bound. The results indicat e that the origin of PCP in the Skagerrak is the Baltic and the coasta l areas of Sweden and Norway. The biogenic volatile halocarbons consti tute the largest fraction of the halocarbons in the area. The data sup port the findings that volatile chloroethenes are naturally produced. Therefore, the Skagerrak acts as a source for these compounds. The flu x of the compounds investigated is directed from the sea to the atmosp here except for carbon tetrachloride.