MUSSELS AND ALGAE AS BIOINDICATORS FOR LONG-TERM TENDENCIES OF ELEMENT POLLUTION IN MARINE ECOSYSTEMS

Results of more than ten years of experience in the determination of m etals in mussels and algae collected in the North Sea and the Baltic S ea are presented. The various elements determined here are Hg, As, Se, Cd, Pb, Cu, Na, K, S, P, Zn, Mn,Fe, Sr, Ca, Ba, Mg, Tl, Ni Co using t echniques such as cold vapor AAS, INAA, hydride generation AAS, electr othermal AAS, ICP-AES, IDMS and stripping voltammetry. The results ind icate the occurrence of three groups of elements with respect to long- term tendencies of their concentrations. In the first group, the conce ntrations in both mussels and algae varied in the same manner; in the second group no change was observed in either matrix while in the thir d group, the concentrations of elements changed in an opposite manner. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.