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 similar to 65% Pb emissions into the atmosphere in the same period (r = 0.8791, p<0.05). (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.