Organic polar pollutants in surface waters of inland seas

Despite a longstanding EU-wide ban we were able to detect atrazine in the Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea. Concentrations in the Black Sea were substantially higher. Runoff from agricultural and urban areas was the main transport route to marine ecosystems for investigated compounds, though irgarol in Mediterranean waters was attributed to intense maritime traffic. 2-Phenylbenzimidazole-5-sulfonic acid was the only UV-filter detected in marine waters, while benzophenone-4 was observed in the estuaries. Occurrence of UV-filters was seasonal.