Comparison of monitoring approaches for selected priority pollutants in surface water CMA on-site 2 : a chemical monitoring activity initiative in support to the Water Framework Directive implementation

27 Analytical Laboratories from eleven EU Member States and two non-EU countries have participated in a technical on-site event during which sampling and analytical methodologies for chemical monitoring according to proposed WFD provisions have been compared. Coordination of the project was provided by the European Commission Joint Research Centre in collaboration with the Italian Water Research Institute, the Hungarian Ministry of Environment and the Serbian Ministry for Environment and Spatial Planning. The Laboratories had been invited to take samples from a major European river according to their standard protocols and to analyse them for PAHs, PBDE and Nonyl-, Octylphenol. It was shown that even some of the most challenging WFD priority substances, selected on purpose for this exercise, can be measured at WFD relevant concentrations (0.3 x EQS) with methods currently applied in Member States. Depending on the analyte group, the obtained results were not within proposed data quality limits for some participants and therefore further development of methods and harmonisations of efforts is suggested.