1. ICES Marine Chemistry Working Group and Potential for Collaboration
Robin Law
MCWG Chair
CEFAS Burnham Laboratory, UK

2. 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

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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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
diuron and isoproturon

7. 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

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

9. ICES MCWG Berlin 2002

10. 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

11. ICES MCWG Tallinn 3 - 7 March 2003