| Abstract: | The occurrence and distribution of polycyclic musks in the Lippe River system (a tributary of the Rhine River, Germany) was investigated in order to observe the dynamic transport and partitioning of these compounds between aqueous and particulate phases after their discharge into the river by sewage effluents. 1,3,4,6,7,8-Hexahydro-4,6,6,7,8,8-hexamethylcyclopentag]-2-benzopyrane (HHCB), 7-acetyl-1,1,3,4,4,6-hexamethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene (AHTN), 6-acetyl-1,1,2,3,3,5-hexamethylindane (AHMI) and 4-acetyl-1,1-dimethyl-6-tert.-butylindane (ADBI) concentrations were determined in 19 water and surface sediment samples which were taken from a longitudinal section of the river. HHCB and AHTN were present in each of the water samples at concentrations ranging from <10 to 180 ng l−1 and <10 to 70 ng l−1, respectively. The load of dissolved HHCB and AHTN was calculated on the basis of compound concentrations in water and the corresponding river runoff data and ranged from 3 to 293 g day−1 and from 1 to 108 g day−1, respectively. Increasing loads of HHCB and AHTN along the river reflect a high input of sewage effluents to the densely populated areas along the central part of the river. Decreasing loads at the lower reaches indicate that in the corresponding river sections the rate of removal of musks was higher than the rate of input. Degradation and/or adsorption to particulate matter are processes that might explain this phenomenon. Consequently, high concentrations of HHCB and AHTN were detected in surface sediments from the Lippe River (from 5 to 191 μg kg−1 and from 2 to 1399 μg kg−1, respectively). HHCB/AHTN ratios in sediment samples were lower (average 1.2) than in water samples (average 2.9), suggesting the preferential adsorption of AHTN to particulate matter. |
