Mixtures of sediment chemical contaminants at freshwater sampling sites across Europe with different contaminant burdens.

Extended chemical analyses of fluvial sediments were undertaken to establish the key pollutant pressures and mixtures present across nine European Union inland waterways. A wide range of chemical components and physical parameters were investigated including substances from the EU Priority List and Watch List. The data set was examined for key indicator compounds, however it was found that a wide range of pollution pressures were present in the different sediments including organic hydrocarbons, metal(loid)s, nutrients, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) compounds, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances and pesticides, some of which exceeded regulatory guidance at different sampling points. The presence of such a wide range of compounds underpins the complex chemical composition of sediments that have acted as sinks for many decades absorbing contaminants from urban, industrial and agricultural sources. This dataset has been used to describe average overall toxicity of the sediments sampled, a calculation which was based on key components identified by Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and for those that had existing freshwater sediment regulatory values. A total of 33 components were used including PCBs, PAHs, metal(iod)s and pesticides. This analysis reflected the contamination of each site, with most indicating some level of toxicity during the sampling period. Watch List chemicals triclosan (TCS) and diclofenac (DIC) were also investigated; levels were relatively low, typically 10-100's ng L

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Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Susanne Heise reports financial support was provided by Interreg VB North Sea Region Programme, European Regional Development Fund. www.northsearegion.eu. Samantha Richardson reports financial support was provided by Interreg VB North Sea Region Programme, European Regional Development Fund. www.northsearegion.eu. Will M. Mayes reports financial support was provided by Interreg VB North Sea Region Programme, European Regional Development Fund. www.northsearegion.eu. Sonja Faetsch reports financial support was provided by Interreg VB North Sea Region Programme, European Regional Development Fund. www.northsearegion.eu. Hanne Hetjens reports financial support was provided by Interreg VB North Sea Region Programme, European Regional Development Fund. www.northsearegion.eu. Johnny Teuchies reports financial support was provided by Interreg VB North Sea Region Programme, European Regional Development Fund. www.northsearegion.eu. Paul Walker reports financial support was provided by Interreg VB North Sea Region Programme, European Regional Development Fund. www.northsearegion.eu. Katharina Heitmann reports financial support was provided by Interreg VB North Sea Region Programme, European Regional Development Fund. www.northsearegion.eu. Kevin Welham reports financial support was provided by Interreg VB North Sea Region Programme, European Regional Development Fund. www.northsearegion.eu. Dean Moore reports were provided by Interreg VB North Sea Region Programme, European Regional Development Fund. www.northsearegion.eu. Lieven Bervoets reports financial support was provided by Interreg VB North Sea Region Programme, European Regional Development Fund. www.northsearegion.eu. Paul Kay reports financial support was provided by Interreg VB North Sea Region Programme, European Regional Development Fund. www.northsearegion.eu. Wayne Duffus reports financial support was provided by Interreg VB North Sea Region Programme, European Regional Development Fund. www.northsearegion.eu. Nick Smith reports financial support was provided by Interreg VB North Sea Region Programme, European Regional Development Fund. www.northsearegion.eu. Ward De Cooman reports financial support was provided by Interreg VB North Sea Region Programme, European Regional Development Fund. www.northsearegion.eu. Raf Elstj reports financial support was provided by Interreg VB North Sea Region Programme, European Regional Development Fund. www.northsearegion.eu. Els Ryken reports financial support was provided by Interreg VB North Sea Region Programme, European Regional Development Fund. www.northsearegion.eu. Jeanette M. Rotchell reports financial support was provided by Interreg VB North Sea Region Programme, European Regional Development Fund. www.northsearegion.eu.