Monitoring methodologies reflecting the long-term quality and contamination of surface waters are needed to obtain a representative picture of pollution and identify risk drivers. This study sets a baseline for characterizing chemical pollution in the Danube River using an innovative approach, combining continuous three-months use of passive sampling technology with comprehensive chemical (747 chemicals) and bioanalytical (seven in vitro bioassays) assessment during the Joint Danube Survey (JDS4). This is one of the world's largest investigative surface-water monitoring efforts in the longest river in the European Union, which water after riverbank filtration is broadly used for drinking water production. Two types of passive samplers, silicone rubber (SR) sheets for hydrophobic compounds and AttractSPETM HLB disks for hydrophilic compounds, were deployed at nine sites for approximately 100 days. The Danube River pollution was dominated by industrial compounds in SR samplers and by industrial compounds together with pharmaceuticals and personal care products in HLB samplers. Comparison of the Estimated Environmental Concentrations with Predicted No-Effect Concentrations revealed that at the studied sites, at least one (SR) and 4-7 (HLB) compound(s) exceeded the risk quotient of 1. We also detected AhR-mediated activity, oxidative stress response, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma-mediated activity, estrogenic, androgenic, and anti-androgenic activities using in vitro bioassays. A significant portion of the AhR-mediated and estrogenic activities could be explained by detected analytes at several sites, while for the other bioassays and other sites, much of the activity remained unexplained. The effect-based trigger values for estrogenic and anti-androgenic activities were exceeded at some sites. The identified drivers of mixture in vitro effects deserve further attention in ecotoxicological and environmental pollution research. This novel approach using long-term passive sampling provides a representative benchmark of pollution and effect potentials of chemical mixtures for future water quality monitoring of the Danube River and other large water bodies.

• Klíčová slova
• Bioanalytical equivalent, Concentration addition, Iceberg modelling, Mixture effects, Passive sampling, Risk prioritization,
• MeSH
• antagonisté androgenů MeSH
• chemické látky znečišťující vodu * toxicita   analýza   MeSH
• ekotoxikologie MeSH
• estron MeSH
• kvalita vody * MeSH
• monitorování životního prostředí metody   MeSH
• řeky chemie   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• antagonisté androgenů MeSH
• chemické látky znečišťující vodu * MeSH
• estron MeSH

The identification and prioritisation of water bodies presenting elevated levels of anthropogenic chemicals is a key aspect of environmental monitoring programmes. Albeit this is challenging owing to geographical scales, choice of indicator aquatic species used for chemical monitoring, and inherent need for an understanding of contaminant fate and distribution in the environment. Here, we propose an innovative methodology for identifying and ranking water bodies according to their levels of hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) in water. This is based on a unique passive sampling dataset acquired over a 10-year period with silicone rubber exposures in surface water bodies across Europe. We show with these data that, far from point sources of contamination, levels of hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and pentachlorobenzene (PeCB) in water approach equilibrium with atmospheric concentrations near the air/water surface. This results in a relatively constant ratio of their concentrations in the water phase. This, in turn, allows us to (i) identify sites of contamination with either of the two chemicals when the HCB/PeCB ratio deviates from theory and (ii) define benchmark levels of other HOCs in surface water against those of HCB and/or PeCB. For two polychlorinated biphenyls (congener 28 and 52) used as model chemicals, differences in contamination levels between the more contaminated and pristine sites are wider than differences in HCB and PeCB concentrations endorsing the benchmarking procedure.

• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

The freely dissolved concentration (Cfree) of hydrophobic organic chemicals in sediments and soils is considered the driver behind chemical bioavailability and, ultimately, toxic effects in benthic organisms. Therefore, quantifying Cfree, although challenging, is critical when assessing risks of contamination in field and spiked sediments and soils (e.g., when judging remediation necessity or interpreting results of toxicity assays performed for chemical safety assessments). Here, we provide a state-of-the-art passive sampling protocol for determining Cfree in sediment and soil samples. It represents an international consensus procedure, developed during a recent interlaboratory comparison study. The protocol describes the selection and preconditioning of the passive sampling polymer, critical incubation system component dimensions, equilibration and equilibrium condition confirmation, quantitative sampler extraction, quality assurance/control issues and final calculations of Cfree. The full procedure requires several weeks (depending on the sampler used) because of prolonged equilibration times. However, hands-on time, excluding chemical analysis, is approximately 3 d for a set of about 15 replicated samples.

• MeSH
• geologické sedimenty analýza   MeSH
• hydrofobní a hydrofilní interakce MeSH
• látky znečišťující půdu analýza   MeSH
• mikroextrakce na pevné fázi metody   MeSH
• půda chemie   MeSH
• znečištění životního prostředí MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• hodnotící studie MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. MeSH
• Názvy látek
• látky znečišťující půdu MeSH
• půda MeSH

Passive samplers based on diffusive gradients in thin hydrogel films (DGT) were recently modified for sampling of polar organic compounds in water. However, since the sampling rates of the commonly used DGT design with the surface area of 3.1 cm2 are low, we propose to increase them by applying a two-sided design with a larger sampling surface area of 22.7 cm2. The sampler design consists of two sorptive hydrogel disks compressed between two diffusive hydrogel disk layers strengthened by nylon netting and held together by two stainless steel rings. Sorbent/water distribution coefficients (KSW) were determined, and the sampler was calibrated for monitoring 11 perfluoroalkyl substances and 12 pharmaceuticals and personal care products in water at laboratory conditions using a closed system with artificial flow generated by submersible pumps. A field performance test was conducted at five locations in the Morava River basin in Czech Republic. The median value of laboratory-derived sampling rates was 43 mL day-1 with extreme values of 2 mL day-1 and 90 mL day-1 for perfluorotridecanoic and perfluoroheptanoic acids, respectively. The log KSW values of tested compounds ranged from 3.18 to 5.47 L kg-1, and the estimated halftime to attain sampler-water equilibrium ranged from 2 days to more than 28 days, which is the maximum recommended exposure period, considering potential issues with the stability of hydrogel. The sampler can be used for assessment of spatial trends as well as estimation of aqueous concentration of investigated polar compounds.

• Klíčová slova
• Diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT), Hydrogel, Passive sampling, Polar organic compounds, Water monitoring,
• MeSH
• chemické látky znečišťující vodu analýza   MeSH
• difuze MeSH
• fluorokarbony chemie   MeSH
• hydrogely chemie   MeSH
• kyseliny heptylové chemie   MeSH
• organické látky chemie   MeSH
• řeky chemie   MeSH
• sefarosa chemie   MeSH
• voda MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH
• Názvy látek
• chemické látky znečišťující vodu MeSH
• fluorokarbony MeSH
• hydrogely MeSH
• kyseliny heptylové MeSH
• organické látky MeSH
• perfluoro-n-heptanoic acid MeSH Prohlížeč
• sefarosa MeSH
• voda MeSH

Near-ground air (26 substances) and surface seawater (55 substances) concentrations of persistent toxic substances (PTS) were determined in July 2012 in a coordinated and coherent way around the Aegean Sea based on passive air (10 sites in 5 areas) and water (4 sites in 2 areas) sampling. The direction of air-sea exchange was determined for 18 PTS. Identical samplers were deployed at all sites and were analysed at one laboratory. hexachlorobenzene (HCB), hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) as well as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its degradation products are evenly distributed in the air of the whole region. Air concentrations of p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p'-DDE) and o,p'-DDT and seawater concentrations of p,p'-DDE and p,p'-DDD were elevated in Thermaikos Gulf, northwestern Aegean Sea. The polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congener pattern in air is identical throughout the region, while polybrominated diphenylether (PBDE)patterns are obviously dissimilar between Greece and Turkey. Various pollutants, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), PCBs, DDE, and penta- and hexachlorobenzene are found close to phase equilibrium or net-volatilisational (upward flux), similarly at a remote site (on Crete) and in the more polluted Thermaikos Gulf. The results suggest that effective passive air sampling volumes may not be representative across sites when PAHs significantly partitioning to the particulate phase are included.

• MeSH
• chemické látky znečišťující vodu analýza   MeSH
• DDT analýza   MeSH
• dichlordifenyldichlorethylen analýza   MeSH
• halogenované difenylethery analýza   MeSH
• hexachlorbenzen analýza   MeSH
• hexachlorcyklohexan analýza   MeSH
• kvalita vody MeSH
• látky znečišťující vzduch analýza   MeSH
• mořská voda chemie   MeSH
• polychlorované bifenyly analýza   MeSH
• polycyklické aromatické uhlovodíky analýza   MeSH
• znečištění životního prostředí analýza   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Řecko MeSH
• Turecko MeSH
• Názvy látek
• chemické látky znečišťující vodu MeSH
• DDT MeSH
• dichlordifenyldichlorethylen MeSH
• halogenované difenylethery MeSH
• hexachlorbenzen MeSH
• hexachlorcyklohexan MeSH
• látky znečišťující vzduch MeSH
• o,p'-DDT MeSH Prohlížeč
• polychlorované bifenyly MeSH
• polycyklické aromatické uhlovodíky MeSH

Bioaccumulation, the accumulation of a chemical in an organism relative to its level in the ambient medium, is of major environmental concern. Thus, monitoring chemical concentrations in biota are widely and increasingly used for assessing the chemical status of aquatic ecosystems. In this paper, various scientific and regulatory aspects of bioaccumulation in aquatic systems and the relevant critical issues are discussed. Monitoring chemical concentrations in biota can be used for compliance checking with regulatory directives, for identification of chemical sources or event-related environmental risk assessment. Assessing bioaccumulation in the field is challenging since many factors have to be considered that can affect the accumulation of a chemical in an organism. Passive sampling can complement biota monitoring since samplers with standardised partition properties can be used over a wide temporal and geographical range. Bioaccumulation is also assessed for regulation of chemicals of environmental concern whereby mainly data from laboratory studies on fish bioaccumulation are used. Field data can, however, provide additional important information for regulators. Strategies for bioaccumulation assessment still need to be harmonised for different regulations and groups of chemicals. To create awareness for critical issues and to mutually benefit from technical expertise and scientific findings, communication between risk assessment and monitoring communities needs to be improved. Scientists can support the establishment of new monitoring programs for bioaccumulation, e.g. in the frame of the amended European Environmental Quality Standard Directive.

• Klíčová slova
• Chemical assessment, Ecotoxicology, Environmental quality, Environmental quality standards, Monitoring, Passive sampling, Water framework directive,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH