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 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 helps evaluate existing gaps as well as differences between Member States and so identify 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 by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) to support the 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 regions