4.2 Metals (Ag, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Sb, Zn) and Arsenic (As) at the Seine River
Outlet (1935–2005) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
4.3 Antibiotics at the Seine River Outlet (1954–2004) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
5 Intra-basin Comparisons in the Seine River Basin Reveal Contrasted Trends
in Subbasins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
5.1 Compared Metal Contamination History: The Cadmium Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
5.2 Compared POP Contamination History: The PAH Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
6 Interbasin Comparison of Metal Contamination Trends in Western European Rivers
Using Sedimentary Archives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
7 Circulation of Material Within Basins and Its Impact on River Fluxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
7.1 Leakage Ratio of Metals Within the Seine River Basin (1950–2005) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
7.2 Intercomparison of River Contaminant Fluxes in Relation to Their Population
in Western European Rivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
8 Trajectories of the Environmental Issues Affecting River Basins and Society: Example
of PCB Contamination in the Seine River Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
9 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Abstract Sedimentary archives provide long-term records of particulate-bound
pollutants (e.g. trace metal elements, PAHs). We present the results obtained on a
set of selected cores from alluvial deposits within the Seine River basin, integrating
the entire area’s land uses upstream of the core location, collected upstream and
downstream of Paris megacity and in the estuary. Some of these cores go back to the
1910s. These records are complemented by in-depth studies of the related pollution
emissions, their regulation and other environmental regulations, thereby establishing
contaminant trajectories. They are representative of a wide range of contamination
intensities resulting from industrial, urban and agricultural activities and their temporal evolution over a 75,000 km
2 territory. A wide set of contaminants, including
metals, radionuclides, pharmaceuticals and up to 50 persistent organic pollutants,
have been analysed based on the Seine River sediment archives. Altogether, more
than 70 particulate contaminants, most of them regulated or banned (OSPAR
convention, European Water Framework Directive (WFD 2000/60/EC)), were measured in dated cores collected at 7 sites, resulting in a large data set.
After drawing a picture of the literature devoted to sedimentary archives, the
findings resulting from several decades of research devoted to the Seine River basin
will be used, together with other studies on other French and foreign rivers, to
illustrate the outstanding potential of sedimentary archives. The limitations of using
sedimentary archives for inter-site comparison and the approaches developed in the
PIREN-Seine to overcome such limitations such as selecting pertinent indicators
(specific fluxes, per capita release, leakage rate, etc.) will be described. The very
complex interactions between humans and their environment will be addressed
through questions such as the impact on the spatial and temporal trajectories of
contaminants of factors such as wastewater management, deindustrialisation within
the Seine River basin, implementation of national and EU environmental regulations, etc. This chapter will show how such studies can reveal the persistence of the
contamination and the emergence of new pollutants, e.g. antibiotics. It will propose
indicators for the evaluation of the environment resilience and the efficiency of
environmental policies.
270
S. Ayrault et al.
Outlet (1935–2005) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
4.3 Antibiotics at the Seine River Outlet (1954–2004) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
5 Intra-basin Comparisons in the Seine River Basin Reveal Contrasted Trends
in Subbasins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
5.1 Compared Metal Contamination History: The Cadmium Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
5.2 Compared POP Contamination History: The PAH Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
6 Interbasin Comparison of Metal Contamination Trends in Western European Rivers
Using Sedimentary Archives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
7 Circulation of Material Within Basins and Its Impact on River Fluxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
7.1 Leakage Ratio of Metals Within the Seine River Basin (1950–2005) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
7.2 Intercomparison of River Contaminant Fluxes in Relation to Their Population
in Western European Rivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
8 Trajectories of the Environmental Issues Affecting River Basins and Society: Example
of PCB Contamination in the Seine River Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
9 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Abstract Sedimentary archives provide long-term records of particulate-bound
pollutants (e.g. trace metal elements, PAHs). We present the results obtained on a
set of selected cores from alluvial deposits within the Seine River basin, integrating
the entire area’s land uses upstream of the core location, collected upstream and
downstream of Paris megacity and in the estuary. Some of these cores go back to the
1910s. These records are complemented by in-depth studies of the related pollution
emissions, their regulation and other environmental regulations, thereby establishing
contaminant trajectories. They are representative of a wide range of contamination
intensities resulting from industrial, urban and agricultural activities and their temporal evolution over a 75,000 km
2 territory. A wide set of contaminants, including
metals, radionuclides, pharmaceuticals and up to 50 persistent organic pollutants,
have been analysed based on the Seine River sediment archives. Altogether, more
than 70 particulate contaminants, most of them regulated or banned (OSPAR
convention, European Water Framework Directive (WFD 2000/60/EC)), were measured in dated cores collected at 7 sites, resulting in a large data set.
After drawing a picture of the literature devoted to sedimentary archives, the
findings resulting from several decades of research devoted to the Seine River basin
will be used, together with other studies on other French and foreign rivers, to
illustrate the outstanding potential of sedimentary archives. The limitations of using
sedimentary archives for inter-site comparison and the approaches developed in the
PIREN-Seine to overcome such limitations such as selecting pertinent indicators
(specific fluxes, per capita release, leakage rate, etc.) will be described. The very
complex interactions between humans and their environment will be addressed
through questions such as the impact on the spatial and temporal trajectories of
contaminants of factors such as wastewater management, deindustrialisation within
the Seine River basin, implementation of national and EU environmental regulations, etc. This chapter will show how such studies can reveal the persistence of the
contamination and the emergence of new pollutants, e.g. antibiotics. It will propose
indicators for the evaluation of the environment resilience and the efficiency of
environmental policies.
270
S. Ayrault et al.