Determination of phenolic compounds in the marine environment of Thermaikos Gulf, Northern Greece

Abstract

Nitro- and chlorophenols were monitored at eight sampling sites along coast of Pieria province (northern Greece), from October 2003 to September 2004. The target compounds were 2-nitrophenol, 4-nitrophenol, 2,4-dinitrophenol, 2-chlorophenol, 3-chlorophenol, 2,4-dichlorophenol, and pentachlorophenol. Solid-phase extraction followed by high-performance liquid chromatography was used for the determination of the compounds. Among the selected phenolic compounds, the most frequently detected was pentachlorophenol, which was found to be present in all sampling sites. The maximum concentrations of chlorophenols were observed for pentachlorophenol (8.04 µg L⁻¹) followed by 2,4-dichlorophenol (6.11 µg L⁻¹). The geometric mean concentrations for pentachlorophenol during the 12-month survey ranged from non-detectable to 1.06 µg L⁻¹. The occasionally present levels of nitro- and chlorophenols in seawater of the Pieria province suggest that a continued monitoring study as far as toxic organic compounds are concerned is important for this area to maintain a clean environment and to remain attractive for tourism.

Keywords:

• Nitrophenols
• Chlorophenols
• Seawater
• HPLC
• Pieria

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Environmental Project of Pieria Prefecture. The authors would like to thank Mr D. Tselepidis and Mr K. Nalbantis, for their help during the sampling cruises in this work.