Water pollution in Elefsina Sofia Koukoura Natalia Bolou Philip Siaplaouras

Purposes & Goals To determine the quality of the Elefsina's sea water Identify the sources of pollution Compare industrial & residental pollution To conclude to some results regarding the data collected

Hypothesis At the beginning we thought that the sea near to an industrial area (Elefsina) would be much more polluted than the sea in the residential area. More specifically about Aspropirgos, we thought that we would find there certain elements that could prove the existence of pollution and eutrofication. Eutrofication: is caused by the continuous enrichment of the water with nutrients. The presence of these essential nutrients causes the exponential increase of plants and the distraction of the ecological balance

Sources of pollution in Elefsina Landfill of Ano Liosia Sea transports Industrial units

Design of our research The pupils are divided in 4 teams, 2 for the industrial areas and 2 for non-industrial. All teams travelled to get water samples from two distinct parts of Elefsina bay (Aspropyrgos for industrial areas and Loutropyrgos for non-industrial)

We began with filtering the samples in preweighted filters 2L from Aspropyrgos' sample 2L from Loutropyrgos sample The filters which kept the air particles were left for one week in a drier with the aim of keeping away the water. By removing the mass of the filters we would find the mass ofthe air particles. Air Particles

Suspended particles (Results) 9,0Loutropyrgos 9,5 Aspropyrgos Air Particles (mg/L)Sample

NO 2 - In order to determine the quantity of the NO 2 - we followed the forthcoming procedure: 40ml of filtered sample + 5ml of solution A (we waited for 5min) + 5ml of solution B (we waited for 10min) and we measured the absorption of singly frequenced light from the final (coloured) product.

In order to get some useful results from the measured absorbation ratios we had to give the computer some absorbation values from solutions with known concentrations. After feeding the machine with these values we could easily compute the concentration using simple mathematical functions.

0,28630,3 0,15720,2 0,09220,1 AbsorptionConcentration in NO 2 -

A= 0,4726 c + 0,0525 Measurement 2: 0,0541 0,0556Measurement 1: 0,0571 Loutropyrgos Measurement 2: 0,0526 0,0536Measurement 1: 0,0546 Aspropyrgos Average absorption AbsorptionSample

Results (NO 2 - ) 0,0065Loutropyrgos 0,0023Aspropyrgos C (μgions/L)Sample

Chlorophyll We had strained in two filters 2L from Aspropyrgos sample 2L from Loutropyrgos sample. These filters were put into centrifugal pipes and were contemplated with acetone. The centrifugal procedure followed and after that the measurement of the absorption of the light. Firstly, the absorption measurements were carried out in the plain samples and then we measured again after adding 8 drops of solution HCl. By using a mathematical equation we were able to find the concentration of chlorophyll in the samples.

Aspropyrgos sample 0,84800, nm 0,97300, nm Absorption A a samples + HCl Absorption A 0 samples Wave length

Loutropyrgos sample 0,46630, nm 0,48770, nm Absorption A a samples + HCl Absorption A 0 samples Wave length

Chlorophyll results 0,4272Loutropyrgos 0,8437Aspropyrgos Concentration (μg/L) Sample C chlorophyll-a = 26,7 ·| E – E 665 a |·8 V·5

CONCLUSION Aspropyrgos' waters, despite being in an industrial area, has a lower concentration in NO 2 - Aspropyrgos' waters have slightly more air particles. This small difference is not analogous to the tremendously different environment. Thus, the concentration of air particles cannot be used as an evidence of pollution Although Aspropyrgos' waters have a larger concentration in Chlorophyl, this is not due to eutrofication, as originally thought.

Proposals Prohibition of factory waste Control over the use of chemical fertilizers Control over the naval waste thrown into the gulf