CIESM Mediterranean Mussel Watch Program: large-scale survey of radioactive and emerging contaminants in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Primary concern: public health.

Coordinator: Hervé Thébault
CIESM Officer: Alessia Rodriguez y Baena

General information

The Mediterranean Mussel Watch program was originally conceived by CIESM in 2002 (see CIESM Workshop Monograph n°15) with the main objective to document reliable baseline levels of radionuclides in the Mediterranean and Black Seas coastal waters, using the mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis as a unique bioindicator. Some 20 marine environmental laboratories are now involved in this network, the first in the region specifically designed to monitor radionuclides before its extension next to other trace-contaminants. A dedicated round-table session was held during the 37th CIESM Congress (June 2004, Barcelona). Attended by some 50 scientists and coastal managers, it highlighted the preliminary outputs of the program. A major step was achieved by the end of 2004, with the production and utilization by the network of a specific reference material (AIEA-437) with financial support of IRSN, France, and technical coordination of AIEA-MEL, Monaco, allowing a large intercomparison exercise. At the moment of this writing (end 2007), over 50 sites have been monitored; on the basis of these results, the program coordinator was able to produce this first, yet partial, distribution map of Cesium-137 at the regional level:

MMW Phase II

Upon successful completion of Phase I of the program, which culminated with the publication in 2008 of the very first regional survey of cesium-137 levels in an international journal (see below), the MMW Phase II has now been launched. To optimize the efforts deployed by our Commission in support of the program, and in light of strong scientific evidence, the radioactive element Polonium-210 (Po-210) and the PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) family of emerging contaminants were selected.

The following MMW II activities have been accomplished (as of December 2008):

1) in cooperation with IAEA-MEL, (i) pre-screening and testing of the standard operational procedure for Po-210 analysis to be adopted by the MMW Network and (ii) purchase of the laboratory consumables (internal standards and expensive consumables) necessary to guaranty the intercomparability of results among participants. This material will be provided at no cost to all participating institutions.

2) Selection of an appropriate biological reference material to be used in the 2008/2009 regional intercomparison exercise on PBDEs and other contaminants, coordinated by IAEA-MEL/MESL. This project is cofounded by CIESM, IAEA and UNEP-MedPol, and will guarantee inter alia the analytical quality of the PBDE results produced by the MMW II Network.

3) in cooperation with IAEA-MEL and the Italian ENEA-MRC, organisation of the first MMW II International Training exercise entitled: "Joint CIESM-ENEA-IAEA Training Workshop: Polonium-210 (Lead-210) Survey in the Adriatic Sea – 2008" (La Spezia, 11-14 November 2008).

Since 2005, the full operational phase of the program did unfold with the financial support of CIESM, including sampling campaigns in most coastal waters and transplantation of mussels where natural populations are now scarce or absent.

Recent articles stemming from the CIESM Mediterranean Mussel Watch Program

2008		Rodriguez y Baena, A.M., H. Thébault, T., Andjelic, B. Andral, E. Bylyku, F. Conte, R. Delfanti, S. Fontani, F. Galgani, G. Kniewald, I. Osvath, M. Rozmaric Macefat, S. Slavi, A. Scarpato, and M. Strok. 2008. First baseline levels of Po-210 in mussels from the Adriatic Sea: early results from the CIESM Mediterranean Mussel Watch Phase II. [Abstract]. ASLO Aquatic Science Meeting, 25-30 January 2009, Nice (FR). Download the file in pdf format - 16 Ko.
2008		Thébault H., A.M. Rodriguez y Baena, B. Andral, D. Barisic, J. Benedicto Albaladejo, A.S. Bologa, R. Boudjenoun, R. Delfanti, V. Egorov, T. El Khoukhi, H. Florou, G. Kniewald, A. Noureddine, V. Patrascu, M.K. Pham, A. Scarpato, N.A. Stokozov, S. Topcuoglu, and M. Warnau. 2008. 137Cs baseline levels in the Mediterranean and Black Sea: a cross-basin survey of the CIESM Mediterranean Mussel Watch program. Mar. Pol. Bull. 57, pp. 801-806. Download the file in pdf format - 796 Ko.
2007		Thébault H. and A.M. Rodriguez y Baena. 2007. Mediterranean Mussel Watch: a regional program for detecting radionuclides, trace- and emerging-contaminants. Rapp. Comm. Int. Mer. Médit. 38 (41). Download the file in pdf format - 62 Ko.
2007		Rodriguez y Baena A.M. and Thébault H. 2007. CIESM Mediterranean Mussel Watch Program Phase II: towards an increased awareness of marine environment and seafood quality. In: “Marine Sciences and Public Health – Some Major Issues”, F. Briand (Ed.), CIESM Workshop Monograph No. 31(87-90). Download the file in pdf format - 208Ko.

More detailed info

All data produced on a common basis by the participants of the MMW program will feed a database currently under construction. Once validated, contaminants levels and related information will be fully available on-line.

More links to participants' web sites