Abstract
Since its publication in the year 2000, the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) became the most important legal act for water protection not only within the European Union but also in the Danube River Basin. In its strategy against water pollution, the WFD identifies priority substances (PS). PS are hazardous chemical compounds forming a special threat to the quality of surface waters. The goal is to reduce concentrations of all PS at least below substance-specific environmental quality standards (EQS). EQS are concentration limit values derived on the basis of ecotoxicological substance data and additional information. In the Danube River Basin, the level of contamination of the Danube and its tributaries by PS was investigated within the monitoring activities of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River Basin (ICPDR). Especially the results of ICPDR’s research expeditions in 2001 and 2007, the Joint Danube Surveys, revealed the exposure situation for PS in different aquatic matrices. For the subgroup of organic PS, widespread pollution problems with partial exceedance of the respective water EQS were found for nonylphenol, a decomposition product of surfactants, the plasticizer di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, and tributyltin compounds, formerly used in antifouling paints for ships. The mostly banned pesticide atrazine could also be found in many water samples. For all other PS, only local problems were identified or they have not been detected at all. The results for suspended particulate matter, sediment, and biota support the findings above.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
European Union (2006) Directive 2006/11/EC of 15 February 2006 on pollution caused by certain dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment of the Community (Codified version of Directive 76/464/EEC – Dangerous Substances Directive) OJ L 64, 4.3.2006, pp 52–59
European Union (1991) Council directive 91/676/EEC of 12 December 1991 concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources, OJ L 375, 31.12.1991, pp 1–8
European Union (2008) Directive 2008/1/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2008 concerning integrated pollution prevention and control (Codified version of Directive 96/61/EC – IPPC Directive), OJ L 24, 29.1.2008, pp 8–29
European Union (2000) Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy. OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, pp 1–73
European Union (2013) Official website of the European Commission. http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-framework/index_en.html. Accessed 1 Dec 2013
European Union (2003) Common implementation strategy for the WFD (2000/60/EC), Guidance Document No 2, Identification of water bodies
International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) (2009) Danube river basin management plan. http://www.icpdr.org/main/publications/danube-river-basin-management-plan. Accessed 1 Dec 2013
European Union (2001) Decision No 2455/2001/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 November 2001 establishing the list of priority substances in the field of water policy and amending Directive 2000/60/EC, OJ L 331, 15.12.2001, pp 1–5
Lepper P (2002) Towards the derivation of quality standards for priority substances in the context of the water framework directive. Final Report of the Study Contract No. B4-3040/2000/30637/MAR/E1
Lepper P (2005) Manual on the methodological framework to derive environmental quality standards for priority substances in accordance with Article 16 of the WFD (2000/60/EC)
European Union (2008) Directive 2008/105/EC of 16 December 2008 on environmental quality standards in the field of water policy, amending and subsequently repealing Council Directives 82/176/EEC, 83/153/EEC, 84/156/EEC, 84/491/EEC, 86/280/EEC and amending Directive 2000/60/EC, OJ L 348, 24.12.2008, pp 84–97
European Union (2011) Common implementation strategy for the WFD (2000/60/EC), Guidance Document No 27, Technical guidance for deriving environmental quality standards
International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) (1996–2010) TNMN reports. http://www.icpdr.org/main/publications/tnmn-yearbooks. Accessed 1 Dec 2013
Liska I (2015) Managing an international river basin towards water quality protection: the Danube case. Hdb Env Chem. doi:10.1007/698_2015_388
Literáthy P, Koller-Kreimel V, Liska I (2002) Joint Danube survey, Technical Report, ICPDR. http://www.icpdr.org/main/activities-projects/joint-danube-survey-1. Accessed 1 Dec 2013
Liska I, Wagner F, Slobodnik J (2008) Joint Danube survey 2, Final Scientific Report. ICPDR. http://www.icpdr.org/main/activities-projects/joint-danube-survey-2. Accessed 1 Dec 2013
László F (2014) Pollution by heavy metals in the Danube river basin. Hdb Env Chem. doi:10.1007/698_2014_323
Literathy P (2015) PAH and petroleum hydrocarbon contamination in water, suspended particulate matter, sediments and biota in the Danube. Hdb Env Chem. doi:10.1007/698_2015_380
European Communities (2002) EUR 20387, European Union Risk Assessment Report 4-nonylphenol (branched) and nonylphenol, vol 10. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg
European Union (2006) Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), establishing a European Chemicals Agency, amending Directive 1999/45/EC and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 793/93 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1488/94 as well as Council Directive 76/769/EEC and Commission Directives 91/155/EEC, 93/67/EEC, 93/105/EC and 2000/21/EC, OJ L 396, 30.12.2006, pp 1–851
European Communities (2008) EUR 23384, European Union Risk Assessment Report bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP), vol 80. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg
Streit B (1994) Lexikon Ökotoxikologie. VCH, Weinheim
Source Control of Priority Substances in Europe (SOCOPSE) (2009) Substance report – an inventory and assessment of options for reducing emissions: Tributyltin (TBT). http://www.socopse.se/download/18.3cd20f1b1243376c1168000579/1350483854376/SR+TBT.pdf. Accessed 1 Dec 2013
European Communities (2000) EUR 19730, European Union Risk Assessment Report diphenyl ether, pentabromo derivative, vol 5. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg
Umlauf G, Christoph EH, Huber T, Mariani G, Müller A, Skejo H, Wollgast J (2014) Semivolatile organic compounds in water, suspended particulate matter, sediments and biota in the Danube. Hdb Env Chem. doi:10.1007/698_2014_317
The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (2001) Stockholm Convention website. http://chm.pops.int/TheConvention/Overview/TextoftheConvention/tabid/2232/Default.aspx. Accessed 1 Dec 2013
Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (1979) United Nations Economic Commission for Europe – UNECE web site. http://www.unece.org/env/lrtap/. Accessed 1 Dec 2013
European Union (2004) Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on persistent organic pollutants and amending Directive 79/117/EEC, OJ L 158, 30.4.2004, pp 7–49
Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market and repealing Council Directives 79/117/EEC and 91/414/EEC, OJ L 309, 24.11.2009, pp 1–50
International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) (2009) Danube river basin district management plan 2009. http://www.icpdr.org/main/activities-projects/danube-river-basin-management-plan-2009. Accessed 1 Dec 2013
European Union (2013) Directive 2013/39/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 August 2013 amending Directives 2000/60/EC and 2008/105/EC as regards priority substances in the field of water policy
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rauchbüchl, A. (2015). EU WFD Organic Priority Substances in Water, Suspended Particulate Matter, Sediments, and Biota in the Danube. In: Liska, I. (eds) The Danube River Basin. The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, vol 39. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2015_389
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2015_389
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-662-47738-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-662-47739-7
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)