Recent sudden decrease of lead in Adriatic coastal seawater during the years 2000–2004 in parallel with the phasing out of leaded gasoline in Italy

In parallel with the process of lead removal from gasoline in Italy, a research programme was undertaken to study the lead content of Adriatic coastal seawater. In the period 2000–2004 seawater was collected systematically at three sites along the coast line close to the city of Ancona: (i) the mouth of the River Esino, (ii) an area close to the Api refinery and (iii) Portonovo beach, a less impacted zone located along the coast of Mt. Conero. All samples were analyzed by Square-Wave Anodic-Stripping Voltammetry (SWASV). The results show that dissolved Pb content in coastal seawater diminished from an overall median value of 0.25 nmol/L in 2000–2001 to 0.12 nmol/L in 2003–2004, with a decrease of about 50% (statistically significant at 95% significance level). This decrease has been correlated to the concurrent decrease of lead consumption in gasoline in Italy which led to a reduction of ~ 65% Pb emissions into the atmosphere in the same period (r = 0.8791, p < 0.05).