-42- 
Measurements Of Organic Contaminants And Metals 
In The Baltic Sea After The Flooding Event 
Eva Brorstrôm-Lundén 1 , John Munthe 1 , Ingvar Wàngberg 1 , 
Cecilia Torstensson 1 , & Mikael Krysell 2 
1 Swedish Environmental Research Institute (IVL) 
P.O. Box 47086 
40258 Goteborg 
2 Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) 
Abstract 
Measurements of heavy metals including mercury (Hg) and persistent organic 
pollutants (POPs) have been carried out in Baltic Sea during the summer 1997. The fist 
sampling period, 1997 07 02-15, were undertaken before the flooding event when 
surface water were collected at 10 sites in the southern of the Baltic Sea. These 
measurements were part of in the EU-project Baltic Sea System Study (BASYS). 
After the flooding event, samples were collected during two cruises, 1997 08 12-13 
and 1997 08 26-30. These measurements were initiated by the Swedish Environmental 
Protection Agency and the sampling were carried out in collaboration with the 
Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI). Sea water samples were 
collected at 5 sampling sites located outside Oder and Vistula and in the centre of the 
Baltic Sea. 
The analyses included determination of heavy metals such as Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, 
Sr, Zn and Hg. The measurement program of organic contaminants included 
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, (PAHs) as well 
as pesticides. 
Preliminary results show that the water concentrations of heavy metals were at the 
same levels at sampling sites close to coastal areas as at the centre of the Baltic Sea. In 
addition, mercury occurred at the same concentrations before and after the flooding 
event. 
No significant differences in the water concentrations of PCBs and the pesticides, 
HCHs, were observed among the different sampling sites. The preliminary results show 
that the concentrations of HCHs were low and that the concentrations of PCBs were 
close to the analytical detection limit. PAH concentrations were found at the same 
level at 4 of the sampling sites while increased concentrations occurred at the sampling 
site near Oder. 
This is an ongoing study and the analyses will be further validated. More analyses 
including additional compounds will be carried out. The results will be evaluated and 
compared with hydrological parameters and with data from the previous measurements 
within BASYS.