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3 Introduction 
Due to the huge amount of anthropogenic organic contaminants, it is difficult to obtain a 
comprehensive overview of pollution by hazardous substances in German rivers and 
especially in the marine environment. The routine monitoring programme mainly covers 
well known lipophilic substances as PAH, PCBs and some other chlorinated hydro 
carbons. In recent year, studies on several other organic contaminants have been per 
formed, but most investigation had been limited in space and time and did not provide a 
broad picture of contamination. 
The OSPAR-Commission, who is implementing the Convention on the protection of the 
marine environment of the North-Atlantic Ocean, has developed a Hazardous Substance 
Strategy with the objective of preventing pollution of the maritime area by continuously 
reducing discharges, emissions and losses of hazardous substances, with the ultimate 
aim of achieving concentrations in the marine environment near background values for 
naturally occurring substances and close to zero for man-made synthetic substances by 
the year 2020. OSPAR has identified 48 chemicals for priority action and a list of about 
325 further substances of possible concern. For most of these substances it is not 
known, if they reach the marine environment and in which concentrations they might 
occur in water, sediment and organisms. 
Therefore, it is the aim of this project, to identify at least for some of the chemicals for 
priority action and the substances of possible concern their environmental concen 
trations in marine waters of Germany and to compare these concentrations with selected 
samples from other areas of the Northeast Atlantic Ocean. By this, the relevance of 
these substances for the marine environment should be checked. 
Not only OSPAR has identified lists of hazardous substances to the marine environ 
ment, but also the Helsinki Commission, who is implementing the Convention on the 
protection of the marine environment of the Baltic Sea. The Water Framework Directive 
(WFD) has also identified 33 priority substances for coastal waters. Out of these lists, 
the following substances have been investigated in this project: