Potential toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and organochlorine pesticides in sediments from the Ebro River basin in Spain.

This study was carried out to estimate the potential toxicity of 8 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 5 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in sediments in the Ebro River Basin (20 sampling points) according to different methodologies. Detection limit (DL) concentrations were used for compounds reported below the DL (worst-case scenario). The majority of PAH concentrations were found to be below their method detection limit. DL concentrations for OCPs were above the threshold values set by one guideline. In such cases, no toxicity assessment was carried out. It should be noted that no sediment is expected to cause adverse effects on the benthic species living in these sediments according to the methodologies applied.