Marine-relevant contaminants
A literature review to improve the knowledge regarding substances that might occur in the marine environment
Anthropogenic contaminants reach the marine environment mostly directly from land-based sources, but there are cases in which they are emitted or re-mobilized in the marine environment itself. This paper reviews the literature to compile a list of 276 chemical substances that have been, are being or might be released into the marine environment from sea-based human activities. |
 Percentage of the total number of identified substances linked to each sea-based source. | This literature review should inform about the current state of knowledge regarding marine contaminant sources and provide support for setting-up of monitoring approaches, including hotspots screening. The resulting list is, therefore, meant to be a valuable starting point when approaching the management of chemical pollution from coastal to open sea environments. |