Ireland and the WFD The Dangerous Substances Surveillance Monitoring Programme Ciaran ODonnell Environmental Protection Agency Contents nPlanned approach nSelection of Relevant Pollutants nScreening survey nPreliminary results nMonitoring plan nEQS nFuture challenges Relevant Polllutants - Background nIreland largely enjoys relative clean waters nDue, at least in part, to its less industrialised history nTransboundary inputs are relatively insignificant nThe usage of chemicals throughout all sectors of society has become increasingly widespread during the past century River Basin Districts 4 Internal RBDs South-Eastern South-Western Western Eastern 3 Cross-border RBDs North-Western Neagh-Bann Shannon 1 in RBD Northern Ireland North-Eastern Water Framework Directive nSurveillance Monitoring Programme: nPriority list pollutants which are discharged.. nAnnex X nMonthly sampling nOther Pollutants discharged in significant quantities nAnnex VIII: 1-10 n3-monthly sampling Monitoring Plan nSelect Relevant Pollutants nChoose surveillance monitoring programme sites nCommence Monitoring programme 2007 nAnnex IX and X nRelevant pollutant list Relevant Pollutant Selection 1.Top-down Approach Consider all substances potentially introduced to the environment in Ireland Prioritise based on Knowledge of usage Available monitoring data 2. Bottom-up Approach Consider known water quality impacts Little information available on organics effects 3. Check selected list by a screening survey Candidate list of relevant pollutants Selection of compounds: WFD Annex VIII universe of chemicals as starting point WFD Annex X and Annex IX compounds included automatically Pollutant lists considered: 76/464/EC List II candidate substances UNEP POPs OSPAR EPER Register Dangerous Substances tracking project Locally Relevant Pesticides Aquatic environment control products Endocrine disrupting products Total number of substances/groups161 Screening Programme nWide range of Parameters to be measured n12 Month programme 41 Priority Action Substances 161 Relevant Pollutants 227 parameters reported (including sums) nReview Relevant Pollutants list after six months nContinue with shortened list for remaining six months nCompare results with working EQS values Screening Programme Sites nMonitoring programme - 23 sites 17 Surface water sites 4 Groundwater sites 1 site at WWTP - Ringsend, Dublin 1 site at Landfill - Ballyeally, Dublin nWater samples taken monthly at each site. nOne sediment and one biota sample taken at the 17 surface water sites Screening Programme Assessment Because EQS are not finalised at this stage Results were compared with Limit of Detection (LOD) First phase 43 parameters dropped after 6 months Not found Not appropriate for water column work Detection limit too high to be useful (LOD>>EQS) Continued with new pesticides for 6 months Results of Screening Programme - Provisional Surface Waters (17 sites) Test substance for relevance: Means compiled for each site Test for any mean > LOD 56 compounds found Metals18 VOC13 Organics8 Pesticides13 PAH2 Inorganic2 Results of Screening Survey - Provisional Ground Waters (4 sites) Test substance for relevance: Means compiled for each site Test for any mean > LOD 31 compounds found Inorganic2 Metals13 Organics7 Pesticides4 PAH1 VOC4 Results of Screening Survey - Provisional Landfill Leachate (1 site) Test substance for relevance: Means compiled for each site Test for any mean > LOD 109 compounds found Inorganic3 Metals19 Organics26 Pesticides34 PAH7 VOC20 Results of Screening Survey - Provisional Treated Wastewater (1 site) Test substance for relevance: Means compiled for each site Test for any mean > LOD 54 compounds found Inorganic2 Metals13 Organics14 Pesticides16 PAH3 VOC6 Results Summary - Provisional Priority Pollutants Relevant Pollutants Surface Waters (56)1838 Groundwater (31)724 Leachate (109)2782 WWTP (54)1440 Total of targets found3189 Monitoring Targets (Provisional) Surveillance Programme Targets: Priority Pollutants EQS Directive41 Relevant PollutantsMetals17 VOC16 Pesticides27 Other Organics26 Inorganic ions 3 Total targets130 Monitoring Programme Surveillance Programme sites: Water typeMonitoring points Rivers189 Lakes 73 Transitional and Coastal 37 Total299 Environmental Quality Standards Priority Substances: Commission Proposal July 2006 Annex I Part A: 33 parameters Part B: 8 parameters Relevant Pollutants: No final decision Working group on EQS Adopt EQS used in screening work? Look for common applications in other MS Future Challenges Analytical resources Cost Set-up time Development of EQS for Relevant Pollutant list EQS levels will define the monitoring activity Some toxicologically derived EQS unattainable by existing monitoring techniques Some discussion on equipment level is desirable to ensure proper investment of resources eg Metals - ICPMS Organics? End Thank You for Listening