ICES Marine Chemistry Working Group and Potential for Collaboration Robin Law MCWG Chair 2001-2003 CEFAS Burnham Laboratory, UK

International Council for the Exploration of the Sea Founded in 1902 by 8 North European nations Fisheries focus, both science and management Strong interest in hydrography Expanded to include all the North Atlantic Ocean

Environmental studies in ICES Marine pollution research began in 1966 MCWG formed in 1969, meeting in Lisbon Active group, usually 30 - 35 members 3 subgroups: organics, trace metals, chemical oceanography 25th meeting in 2003

What do we do ? Provide advice to eg. OSPAR & HELCOM Review and recommend methods Produce overviews on analysis, environmental presence & significance of compounds Collaborate with other members on research topics

Intercomparison & method improvement MCWG advises international collaborative monitoring programmes under OSPAR, HELCOM Important that data are comparable Long series of IC exercises for trace metals, organochlorines, petroleum hydrocarbons and PAH Development of guidelines (TIMES) QUASIMEME conceived within MCWG and has assumed the AQC functions

Recent overviews (MCWG 2001/2) TCPM & TCPMe, toxaphene, PBDEs, volatile organics Polyfluorinated compounds, PAH metabolites Booster biocides (Irgarol 1051, diuron, Sea Nine 211, TCMTB, dichlofluanid, chlorothalonil, TCMS pyridine and copper/zinc pyrithione) Dioxins and dioxin-like CBs in fish post-Erika monitoring studies the use of semi-permeable membrane devices (SPMDs) in monitoring studies 2003 - diuron and isoproturon

Collaboration within MCWG Data from 5 laboratories in UK, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands were combined to test a pharmacokinetic model of CB biotransformation Data originally gathered within laboratories’ own programmes

Brominated flame retardants Initially PBDEs, now working on HBCD and TBBPA Also 2 intercomparison exercises

ICES MCWG Berlin 2002

MCWG and AMPS Both groups will gain from collaboration Degrees of formality Joint ICES-JRC working group (as for FAO, IOC, EIFAC) Links and exchanges between MCWG & AMPS Representative to attend next meeting of MCWG, describe work of AMPS group and consider then ? MCWG can provide information from national perspectives, and an overview for the marine area

ICES MCWG Tallinn 3 - 7 March 2003