POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC-HYDROCARBONS (PAH) IN SEAWATER AROUND ENGLAND ANDWALES

Surface seawater samples collected during the period 1993-1995 from 17 7 stations around England and Wales have been analysed for 15 individu al parent PAH compounds, using high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection, The sampling sites included 50 of the sta tions designated under the UK National Monitoring Programme, and compr ised estuarine, coastal and offshore locations, PAH concentrations at offshore sites were generally low or undetectable. Higher concentratio ns were found in many coastal and estuarine samples, with Sigma PAH co ncentrations ranging from none detected to 10,7 mu g l(-1), almost thr ee orders of magnitude greater than the highest concentration recorded for offshore waters, Particularly high concentrations of 2- and 3-rin g PAH were detected close to a steel manufacturing plant on the River Tees (N-E England), predominantly in the dissolved phase. Only at this one site were the PAH concentrations sufficiently high to pose a risk of immediate mortality in exposed organisms, but about 15% of the sam ples analysed in this study came from wafers (almost all in industrial ized estuaries) that may have the potential to affect the long-term we llbeing of a range of aquatic organisms. Crown Copyright (C) 1997 Publ ished by Elsevier Science Ltd.