Some chemical contaminant of surface sediments at the Baltic Sea coastal region with special emphasis on androgenic and anti-androgenic compounds.

Androgenic and anti-androgenic compounds including p,p'-DDE, Diuron, Linuron, Fenarimol, Vinclozolin, 1-(3,4-dichlorophenyl) urea (DCPU), 1-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-3-methylurea, (DCPMU), tributyltin (TBT) and triphenyltin (TPT) and their metabolites (DBT, MBT, DPT, MPT) as well as metallic elements (Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Pb, Co, Tl, Cr, Fe, Mn, Al, K, Mg, Na, Ca, Ba, Ti, Sn), PAHs (16 indicator compounds), DDTs and PCBs have been quantified in top layer (0-10 cm) of up to 37 surface sediment samples collected from several sites in costal zone of the Gulf of Gdańsk, an inland freshwater area of Brdyujście in Poland and the tidal flats of the Norderney Island, Wadden Sea in 2002-2003. These sites differed in the degree of anthropogenic activities, including chemical pollution and related impact on biota. Especially in sediments near shipyards, ship repair facilities, harbours, other industrial activities or close to municipal sewage treatment plant outlets butyltins, PAHs and some metallic elements were found at high concentrations. Diuron, Linuron and DCPMU were detected at a few sites, Fenarimol only once, while Vinclozolin and DCPU were not detected. DDT concentrations in the sediments from the Gdańsk and Gdynia region of the Gulf show a stepwise decrease following the ban for production and use, while diffusion of PCBs at some industrial sites seems to continue. Elevated PAH concentrations in sediments seem to be mainly due to pyrogenic and less to mixed pyrogenic and petrogenic sources, while for a few sites rather petrogenic sources dominated. The reference sites in the Norderney Island, Wadden Sea showed similar or slightly higher loads of DDTs, BTs, PAHs, PCBs and metallic elements when compared to sediments from the least contaminated sites in the coastal Gulf of Gdańsk area, while phenyltins were not detected at both spatially distant European areas.