database (MERMAN), accessible through the British Oceanographic Data Centre website (BODC, 2012), has also been consulted as this includes a number of stations located within the Anglian region, monitored under the Clean Seas Environmental Monitoring Programme (CSEMP).
164. The values observed for the contaminants included in the present analysis are a reflection of the overall environmental status of the Anglian region; this is easily deduced when these data are compared with those held in the CSEMP database (CSEMP, 2012a).
4.3.1 PAHs 165. In the marine environment the presence and distribution of PAHs can be related to shipping activities such as burning of fossil fuels or oil spills; a long range transport of PAHs derived from burning of fossil fuels also occurs (OSPAR, 2009). OSPAR (2009 – Annex 3) summarises the data available for contaminants concentrations in sediments around the UK coast. Data collected from stations within the Anglian region are also available from CSEMP, 2012a and ICES (2012).
166. Concentrations of the majority PAHs recorded at all sites by the present study were below the ER‐L guideline level or below the ER‐M guideline value. None was recorded above the latter. Comparing the concentration values recorded by the present study against the historical data for the Anglian region, it is clear that these results are comparable with the concentrations found in the wider area. For example, concentrations of anthracene recorded at various locations within the Anglian region over the years, ranged between 8 and 1050μg / kg with highest values recorded mainly in the coast area around the Thames estuary. Some of these values are therefore above 85μg / kg (the ER‐L guideline level for Anthracene), but below rthe ER‐M value of 1100μg / kg. Similar patterns can be observed for the other single PAHs contaminants with a record in CSEMP for the Anglian region. Historical records for acenaphthene were available form ICES (2012); This contaminant was the only one which was recorded, during this survey, above ER‐ L guideline value, but greatly below ER‐M guideline values. From the historical records it is detected that the majority of the records reported values below ER‐L, but that values below ER‐M also occurred.
Benthic Characterisation Report November 2013
4.3.2 Metals 167. Recorded values for metals during the present study highlighted that, with the exception of cadmium, lead, mercury and zinc, which were below the ER‐L guideline levels at all sites, the other metals concentrations analysed were above the ER‐L East Anglia THREE and FOUR Offshore
