Contamination in the Somme River water, France

ABSTRACT: Surface waters, especially natural rivers always act as receiving waters for various kinds of organic contaminants from municipal and industrial wastewaters, agricultural activities, organic chemicals in use, non-point source pollutions. Due to their toxicity, persistency and wide diffusion, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), pesticides, phthalates, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and their alkylated homologues (Me-PAHs) are among the organic contaminants the most often monitored in the environment. Determination of the contamination level is the crucial first step of environmental research. Field investigations have clearly demonstrated their importance on various studies on the contamination levels, the origin, and impact of contaminants in the aquatic ecosystems. The present paper is an effort on the field studies focusing on persistent organic pollutants: PCBs, PAHs and Me-PAHs, phthalates and pesticides in Somme River water located on Northern France. The sampling zone is characterized by fields of agriculture surrounding urbanized and industrialized areas and constitutes a place embedded with strong fishing activities. However, the river section of interest is also known for the high levels of PCB in sediments. The water were analyzed for 28 PCBs, 16 PAHs and 18 Me-PAHs, 6 phthalates and 28 pesticides with the aim to determine the dispersion trend and the water quality of the sampled water