Heavy metals and organochlorine residues in marine animals and coastal sediments of the Tirrenean sea around Naples.

A survey of selected heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Hg) and organo-chlorine hydrocarbons (DDT and PCB compounds) concentrations in marine animals and of mercury, DDT and PCB in coastal sediments, began in 1973. The sampling was confined to the Bay of Naples, and to the coast along Santa Maria di Castellabate, a small village about 100 km south of Naples which has recently declared a marine park. The results of this investigation indicate that contamination by the above pollutants is low; the extent of contamination in the bay of Naples, compared to that of the marine park, shows that the level of heavy metals and organochlorine hydrocarbons in the benthic organisms is nearly the same within the two areas, whereas that of the sediments of the bay is significantly higher than in the park.