A selection of priority substances (PSs) [i.e. polybromodiphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and alkyl phenols (APs)] included in Directive 2008/105/EC were analyzed in standard solutions, extracts from river waters and river-water samples in order to investigate variabilities in different steps of the analytical process.
Concentrations measured in river samples using WFD-monitoring protocols showed that even some of the most challenging WFD PSs (e.g., PAHs, PBDEs and APs) can be measured at WFD-relevant concentrations with methods currently applied in MSs, but variability is still too great and not all laboratories meet required limits of quantification.
Hindrance to the implementation of the monitoring requirements is therefore not the technical feasibility of analysis at these concentration levels, but rather communication, knowledge exchange and harmonization among the laboratories involved.