As part of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Status and Trends (NST) Program compiled the World Mussel Watch (WMW) data base with results from the analyses of marine or estuarine mussels or oysters as far back in time as possible. Here we compare WMW data with results from two long-term Mussel Watch Programs, the Reseau National d'Observation de la Qualite du Mulieu Marin (RNO) Mussel Watch in France and NST Program in the United States. The medians and 85th percentiles for Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Ag, Cd, Hg and Pb in mussels and oysters were calculated for the WMW, NST and RNO Mussel Watch programs. While there was generally good agreement for medians among all three data sets, the upper ends of the WMW concentrations tend to be higher than their NST and RNO counterparts. This probably reflects the fact that the latter two programs emphasize collection of mollusks at representative sites rather than within small areas of extreme contamination such as near waste discharges.
展开▼
