Development of cornerstones for a monitoring programme for the assessment of biocide emissions into the environment: Project No. FKZ 3712 67 403; Report No. UBA-FB 002483/ENG

Abstract

First, the status of biocides monitoring in Germany and other EU countries was evaluated. Therefore scientific publications and reports by government agencies and other institutions were retrieved. To get a broader picture a first international workshop on biocides monitoring was organised on behalf of the German Environment Agency (UBA) and the NORMAN association. Main topics were prioritisation of biocides for inclusion in monitoring programmes, practical issues regarding sampling and analysis, and monitoring data evaluation. Based on a proposal from a previous project a prioritisation approach for biocides was optimised and executed. Compounds are evaluated for potential direct or indirect emissions, their potential to cause adverse effects, and their relevance for an occurrence in environmental compartments (e.g. water phase, suspended particulate matter, biota). Depending on the compartment, substance-specific properties relevant for partitioning between media, persistence and/or bioaccumulation are considered. To achieve a broader coverage of biocides in monitoring activities a proposal for a biocides monitoring programme was elaborated. In an experimental section a set of biocides (triclosan, azole fungicides) including one transformation product (methyltriclosan) was investigated in different samples from sewage treatment plants and receiving waters. At the in-vestigated sites measured levels were low or even below the limit of quantification. In a study on rodenticides in archived fish liver samples low levels of three compounds could be detected in samples from different years and sites. An experimental study on triclosan/methyltriclosan proved the occurrence of residues of both compounds in soils and earthworms from sewage sludge treated sites. Finally, the proposed prioritisation scheme and monitoring concept was discussed on base of the experimental results and literature data. The project results were presented during a second international workshop on biocides monitoring again jointly organized by UBA and NORMAN