For more than 50 years, organotin compounds have been used in almost all sectors of industry. As a consequence, specific environmental compartments are affected by the emission of these xenobiotics. The emissions of organotin compounds into the environment from paints used in the shipbuilding industry for ship hull coating, and from the plant protection products are particularly significant.In 2001, the IMO introduced a global...

Regular use of a reference material and participation in a proficiency testing program can improve the reliability of analytical data. This paper presents the preparation of candidate reference materials for the drugs metoprolol, propranolol, carbamazepine, naproxen, and acenocoumarol in freshwater bottom sediment and cod and herring tissues. These reference materials are not available commercially. Drugs (between 7 ng/g and 32...

In view of the specific properties of mercury and its capability of forming compounds that can be bioaccumulated and biomagnified at successive levels of the trophic pyramid, it has become necessary to gather detailed information on the sources of emission of this element into the environment and its fate there. Moreover, the increasing awareness of the relationship between the toxicity of mercury and its chemical form has sharpened...