Marine chemical contaminants – support to harmonized MSFD reporting: Substances considered for MSFD descriptor 8

The 2018 reporting on updates of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) Articles 8, 9 and 10 will be supported by web forms to aid completion of the XML files by Member States. It is planned to use, wherever possible, drop-down lists to facilitate data entry, thereby also helping to ensure consistency in the data entered. This report outlines a process to prepare a list of contaminants for use in 2018 MSFD D8 reporting (as drop-down lists in the reporting web forms). This list assists in using a harmonized nomenclature for the unambiguous identification of the substances, thereby facilitating consistency in the data entry. Additionally, the compilation of the list allows for comparisons between Member States and marine regions that may support the processes of selection of relevant contaminants for D8 assessments.JRC.D.2-Water and Marine Resource

Potential chemical contaminants in the marine environment: An overview of main contaminant lists

The identification of priority chemicals is a challenge for regulators, managers and researchers all around the world. This report compiles in a single list more than 2700 substances (or groups of substances) coming from main lists of chemicals compiled by relevant global conventions, European legislation, European regional seas and dedicated research work. Although not all of these contaminants are of concern for the marine environment or for a particular MSFD region/sub-region/Member State, this general overview should help understand the different options and support further developments for the monitoring and assessment of chemical pollution in European marine waters. Discussion and collaboration between the different stakeholders and expert groups will be necessary for an efficient way towards an equally high level of protection for healthy and productive oceans. This compilation also assist in using a harmonized nomenclature for the unambiguous identification of the substances of concern. It may also serve as a basis for discussions about procedures for grouping/combining substances at European level. This is expected to facilitate consistency in the upcoming 2018 MSFD data reporting.JRC.D.2-Water and Marine Resource

Organochlorine concentrations in aquatic organisms from different trophic levels of the Sundarban mangrove ecosystem and their implications for human consumption

The Sundarbans, a highly biodiverse tropical ecosystem stretching across India and Bangladesh, is also the largest mangrove forest in the world. Organochlorine compounds (OCs) have been extensively used for agriculture and sanitary purposes in the region. OCs can accumulate in biological tissues and biomagnify in organisms through food webs, for which reason they reach high concentrations in top predators. Because marine food webs are long and marine predators are extensively used in the region as human food, assessment of potential health-related risks caused by OC pollution is in order. This study is the first to determine the concentration of PCBs in fish and crustaceans from the Sundarbans mangroves, their accumulation trends through the food web, and the potential toxicological risk that their consumption poses to humans. DDT concentrations, which had already been assessed in the region, were also determined. The median concentrations ranged from below detection limits to 176.3 ng g−1 lipid weight for tDDT and 275.9  ng g−1 for PCBs. Overall, these concentrations were lower than those usually observed in other regions of the world, apparently as a result of the interplay of several factors: low environmental organochlorine inputs, the physical and climatic characteristics of an ecosystem dominated by high temperatures in a highly flushed ecosystem that dilutes and rapidly disperses pollutants, and the comparatively short food chain lengths that, similarly to other mangrove ecosystems, characterize the Sundarbans. Organochlorine concentrations were 2-3 orders of magnitude lower than commonly accepted tolerance levels, so their consumption do not pose a sensible risk to the population. However, concentrations of DDT in dry fish from retail markets were higher because this compound is used for pest control during fish processing. Potential risks involved in this practice likely outweigh potential benefits, so it is recommended that this compound is substituted by less hazardous alternatives

Trace element accumulation and trophic relationships in aquatic organisms of the Sundarbans mangrove ecosystem (Bangladesh)

The Sundarbans forest is the largest and one of the most diverse and productive mangrove ecosystems in the world. Located at the northern shoreline of the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean and straddling India and Bangladesh, the mangrove forest is the result of three primary river systems that originate further north and northwest. During recent decades, the Sundarbans have been subject to increasing pollution by trace elements caused by the progressive industrialization and urbanization of the basins of these three rivers. As a consequence, animals and plants dwelling downstream in the mangroves are exposed to these pollutants in varying degrees, and may potentially affect human health when consumed.The aim of the present study was to analyse the concentrations of seven trace elements (Zn, Cu, Cr, Hg, Pb, Cd and As) in 14 different animal and plant species collected in the Sundarbans in Bangladesh to study their transfer through the food web and to determine whether their levels in edible species are acceptable for human consumption. delta N-15 values were used as a proxy of the trophic level.A decrease in Zn, Cu, Pb and Cd levels was observed with increasing trophic position. Trace element concentrations measured in all organisms were, in general, lower than the concentrations obtained in other field studies conducted in the same region. When examined with respect to accepted international standards, the concentrations observed in fish and crustaceans were generally found to be safe for human consumption. However, the levels of Zn in Scylla serrata and Cr and Cd in Harpadon nehereus exceeded the proposed health advisory levels and may be of concern for human health. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

El clima institucional y su relación con la gestión pedagógica de las instituciones educativas públicas del nivel secundaria del distrito de Nuevo Imperial- UGEL 08 Cañete -2014

La presente investigación tuvo como objetivo central determinar cuál es la relación entre el clima institucional y la gestión pedagógica de las instituciones educativas públicas del nivel secundaria del distrito de Nuevo Imperial UGEL 08- Cañete 2014, por lo que a través de la revisión teórica, se construyó un marco teórico que dé respuesta a las interrogantes formuladas sobre la relación del clima institucional con la gestión pedagógica. El tipo de investigación es básica, dado que en el estudio de las variables se pretendió incrementar el corpus teórico, para lo cual se aplicó un diseño no experimental y se trabajó con una población muestra de 100 docentes del nivel secundario de las instituciones públicas arriba en mención; aplicando un instrumento tipo cuestionario de 30 ítems, se procedió a recoger los datos para los cuales se da término una significancia de 0,05 y se demostró que sí existe una relación entre las variables clima institucional y gestión pedagógica al obtener un p > 0,05 (p < 0,05 y un coeficiente de correlación de Spearman de 0,282). Entre las conclusiones existe una relación significativa entre el clima institucional con la gestión pedagógica en las instituciones educativas públicas del nivel secundario del distrito de Nuevo Imperial UGEL 08- Cañete 2014

Correspondence on: 'EULAR definition of difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis'.

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Knowledge Hub on the Integrated Assessment of Chemical Contaminants and their Effects on the Marine Environment

In a time of environmental awareness, spurred on by the possibility that our world is threatened by climate change, it is important to remember that there are other anthropogenic pressures, which are also essential for addressing the protection of the marine and coastal environment. Pollution is a global, complex issue that contributes to biodiversity loss and poor environmental health and comes from the production and release of many of the synthetic chemicals that we use in our daily lives. Chemical contaminants are often underrepresented as a major contributor of environmental deterioration. The Joint Programming Initiative Healthy and Productive Seas and Oceans (JPI Oceans) established in 2018 the JPI Oceans Knowledge Hub on the integrated assessment of chemical contaminants and their effects on the marine environment. The purpose of the Knowledge Hub was to provide recommendations on how to improve the methodological basis for marine chemical status assessment. The work has resulted in the following policy paper which focuses on improving the efficiency and implementation of integrated assessment methodology of effects of chemicals of emerging concern. Substantial additional knowledge of biological effects is needed to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) of our oceans and coastal areas. The Knowledge Hub is represented by highly skilled scientists and policy makers, appointed by the JPI Oceans Management Board, to ensure that the recommendations provided are useful for policy making

Meeting of the Ecosystem Approach Correspondence Group on on Pollution Monitoring (CorMon Pollution)

In accordance with the UNEP/MAP Programme of Work adopted by COP 21 for the biennium 2020-2021, the United Nations Environment Programme/Mediterranean Action Plan-Barcelona Convention Secretariat (UNEP/MAP) and its Programme for the Assessment and Control of Marine Pollution in the Mediterranean (MED POL) organized the Meeting of the Ecosystem Approach Correspondence Group on Pollution Monitoring (CorMon on Pollution Monitoring). The Meeting was held via videoconference on 26-27 April 2021. 2. The main objectives of the Meeting were to: a) Review the Monitoring Guidelines/Protocols for IMAP Common Indicator 18, as well as the Monitoring Guidelines/Protocols for Analytical Quality Assurance and Reporting of Monitoring Data for IMAP Common Indicators 13, 14, 17, 18 and 20; b) Take stock of the state of play of inter-laboratory testing and good laboratory practice related to IMAP Ecological Objectives 5 and 9; c) Analyze the proposal for the integration and aggregation rules for IMAP Ecological Objectives 5, 9 and 10 and assessment criteria for contaminants and nutrients; d) Recommend the ways and means to strengthen implementation of IMAP Pollution Cluster towards preparation of the 2023 MED Quality Status Report

A MSFD complementary approach for the assessment of pressures, knowledge and data gaps in Southern European Seas : the PERSEUS experience

PERSEUS project aims to identify the most relevant pressures exerted on the ecosystems of the Southern European Seas (SES), highlighting knowledge and data gaps that endanger the achievement of SES Good Environmental Status (GES) as mandated by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). A complementary approach has been adopted, by a meta-analysis of existing literature on pressure/impact/knowledge gaps summarized in tables related to the MSFD descriptors, discriminating open waters from coastal areas. A comparative assessment of the Initial Assessments (IAs) for five SES countries has been also independently performed. The comparison between meta-analysis results and IAs shows similarities for coastal areas only. Major knowledge gaps have been detected for the biodiversity, marine food web, marine litter and underwater noise descriptors. The meta-analysis also allowed the identification of additional research themes targeting research topics that are requested to the achievement of GES. 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license.peer-reviewe

Marine chemical contaminants – support to the harmonization of MSFD D8 methodological standards: Matrices and threshold values/reference levels for relevant substances

According to the Article 17(2) of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), Member States have to review and update their marine strategies every six years. This requires updates of the MSFD Articles 8, 9 and 10 by 2018. The current report provides an overview of the substances, matrices and threshold values that Member States intend to use for the assessment of the Descriptor 8 in this MSFD reporting cycle. This compilation aims at evaluating gaps and discrepancies between Member States and identifying aspects that need further harmonization. It also helps understand which issues should be addressed to achieve consistency with the new MSFD Commission Decision (EU 2017/848). The information has been gathered from the contributions of the MSFD Expert Network on Contaminants, an informal network established to support MSFD implementation. This work is part of a process to help regulators to assess relevant contaminants in their jurisdictional area, thus aiming at EU national authorities but also at Regional Sea Conventions in the shared marine basins.JRC.D.2-Water and Marine Resource