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In this master's thesis, we aimed to find out which site in the Slovenian Sea is the most suitable for intensive mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) farming from the point of view of microplastic pollution. The growth depth of mussels was considered as an important factor for the contamination of mussels with microplastics. We analysed microlitters and microplastics in seawater and mussel samples from Debeli rtič, Seča and Strunjan. Seawater samples were collected using a gasoline pump. Seawater was filtered using a sieve with a pore size of 100 µm (in situ sampling). At each sampling site, three parallel seawater samples of 1 m3 were pumped from two depths. A total of 18 m3 of seawater filtrates were analysed. In addition to the seawater, mussels were collected from two sampling depths. 50 mussels per sampling site. In total 300 mussels were analysed, including 100 mussels from the three shellfish farms. The presence of microlitter and microplastics was confirmed in all water samples. The top sample layer of the mussel bed from Debele Rtič had the highest concentrations of microlitter. Microlitter were found in 75.7 % of the mussels. The highest average number of microlitter per mussel was found in mussels from Strunjan. V magistrskem delu smo želeli ugotoviti, katera lokacija v slovenskem morju je najbolj primerna za intenzivno gojenje školjk klapavic (Mytilus galloprovincialis) s stališča prisotnosti mikroplastike in na kateri globini so klapavice najmanj podvržene njenemu vplivu. Analizirali smo mikroodpadke, vključujoč mikroplastiko, v vzorcih morske vode ter školjkah iz školjčišč na Debelem rtiču, Seči in Strunjanu. Morsko vodo smo vzorčili z bencinsko črpalko ter na plovilu filtrirali prečrpano vodo na situ s porami 100 µm (vzorčenje in-situ). Na posameznem vzorčnem mestu smo prečrpali tri paralelne vzorce 1 m3 morske vode na dveh globinah. Skupno smo analizirali filtrate 18 m3 morske vode. Poleg morske vode smo na globini vzorčenja vode odvzeli školjke klapavice, in sicer petdeset školjk na posamezni globini. Analizirali smo torej skupno tristo školjk, sto školjk iz vsakega od treh školjčišč. Prisotnost mikroodpadkov in mikroplastike smo potrdili v vseh vzorcih vode. Z najvišjimi koncentracijami mikroodpadkov je izstopala zgornja vzorčna plast školjčišča na Debelem rtiču. Mikroodpadke smo našli v kar 75,7 % školjk. Najvišje povprečno število mikroodpadkov na školjko smo ugotovili pri školjkah iz školjčišča v Strunjanu.

The main purpose of the master's work was to determine the contamination level of the Sava River with potentially toxic elements, which are laid down in the water framework directive, namely As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Ni and Zn. To this end, we determined the levels of potentially toxic elements in samples of sediments, water, various types of fish and mussels that have been sampled along the Sava River in 12 sampling points, from the source to the confluence with the Danube River. The determined concentrations of selected elements revealed an increase of concentrations in the downstream direction. The lowest concentrations were determined in Mojstrana, which represents the reference point where there are no sources of pollution. The highest concentrations of the elements were determined near the major cities along the river, namely, in Zagreb, Sremska Mitrovica and Belgrade. Ecological sediments status was assessed by applying the sediment quality guidelines obtained from the literature. The results show the poor state of the sediments in Radovljica, Jasenovac, Županja, Slavonski Brod, Sremska Mitrovica, Šabac and Belgrade, most likely due to the impact of heavy industry, agriculture and untreated urban wastewater. In mussels and fish the concentration of As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Pb, Ni and Zn determined were in the range of concentrations found in mussls and fish from the Danube River. By calculating the transfer factor (TF) between sediments and fish, it was found that the introduction of potentially toxic elements in the fish is not directly related to the sediment, while the TF between chub and pike for Cr and Pb at the sampling sites Slavonski Brod and Belgrade and Ni in Belgrade indicated a possible transfer of elements through the trophic chain. At all sampling sites, concentrations of Pb, Cd and As in fish muscle were below the maximum permissible concentration prescribed by EU Directive 1881/2006, which defines the maximum allowable concentrations in the human diet. Nevertheless, we calculated the health risk index (HRI) to assess the risk posed to human health by the entry of potentially toxic elements through fish consumption. HRI has indicated the potential risk only for As, as the value of 1 was exceeded in Čatež, Zagreb, Šabac and Belgrade for barbel and for pike in Šabac and Belgrade, and for chub in Belgrade. Glavni namen magistrskega dela je bil ugotoviti kolikšna je obremenjenost reke Save s potencialno strupenimi elementi kot so: As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Ni in Zn. V ta namen smo določili koncentracije potencialno strupenih elementov v vzorcih sedimentov, vode, različnih vrstah rib in školjk. Vzorci so bili odvzeti iz reke Save v 12 vzorčnih točkah razporejenih od izvira do izliva v Donavo. Določitev posameznih koncentracij v vzorcih vod in sedimentov je pokazala, da koncentracije elementov naraščajo dol vodno. Najnižje koncentracije potencialno strupenih elementov smo izmerili na območju prvega merilnega mesta, v Mojstrani, ki predstavlja referenčno točko, kjer ni virov onesnaženja. Najvišje koncentracije elementov smo izmerili ob večjih mestih vzdolž reke, in sicer v Zagrebu, Sremski Mitrovici ter Beogradu. Ekološko stanje sedimentov smo ocenili s smernicami za kakovost sedimentov, ki smo jih povzeli po literaturi. Rezultati so pokazali na slabo stanje sedimentov v Radovljici, Jasenovcu, Županji, Slavonskem Brodu, Sremski Mitrovici, Šabcu in Beogradu, kar je najverjetneje posledica vpliva težke industrije, kmetijstva in neočiščenih komunalnih odpadnih vod. V školjkah in ribah so bile določene koncentracije As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Pb, Ni in Zn v območju koncentracij določenih v školjkah in ribah iz Donave. Z izračunom faktorja prenosa (TF) med sedimentom in ribami smo ugotovili, da vnos potencialno strupenih elementov v ribo ni povezan izključno s sedimentom, medtem ko je TF med klenom in ščuko za Cr in Pb na vzorčnih mestih Slavonski Brod in Beograd ter za Ni v Beogradu pokazal na morebitni prenos elementov po trofični verigi. Na vseh vzorčnih mestih so koncentracije Pb, Cd in As v mišicah rib pod maksimalno dovoljeno koncentracijo, ki je predpisana v EU direktivi 1881/2006, ki opredeljuje maksimalne dovoljene koncentracije v človeški prehrani. Kljub temu smo z izračunom indeksa zdravstvenega tveganja (HRI) ocenili tveganje, ki ga za zdravje ljudi predstavlja vnos potencialno strupenih elementov z uživanjem rib. HRI je pokazal potencialno tveganje samo za As, saj je bila vrednost 1 presežena za mreno v Čatežu, Zagrebu, Šabcu in Beogradu, za ščuko v Šabcu in Beogradu ter za klena v Beogradu.

Pharmaceticals are considered as emerging pollutants of particular concern due to their continuous release into the environment and the potential impact on aquatic organisms. We performed a screening in the wastewater of the WWTP Sevnica in three samplings: March, June and December 2015. We detected more than 30% of the monitored pharmaceuticals in different concentration range. Tramadol was present in the effluent at concentration above 1 µg/L, both in June and December 2015. The main goal was to develop a simple method for the extraction of selected from fish tissue. The results showed presence of tramadol and carbamazepine in some tissue, but the concentrations were below the limit of quantification.

Pharmaceuticals are considered as emerging pollutants of particular concern due to their continuous release into the environment and the potential impact on aquatic organisms. The selection of the target compounds for evaluation in fish tissue was based on physico-chemical properties, bioaccumulation potential and the results of the screening of pharmaceuticals in the effluent of WWTP Sevnica in March 2015. We chose tramadol, risperidone, desipramine, carbamazepine, irbesartan, naproxen, valsartan, atorvastatin, triclosan, simvastatin and diclofenac. The method was developed on muscle tissue and is based on the tissue homogenization with stainless steel beads, followed by extraction with acetonitrile, centrifugation and sample clean-up with solid-phase extraction (SPE). The instrumental analysis was performed with LC-MS/MS. The best and the most reproducible recoveries were observed for the samples that were diluted to 25 mL with 50 mM phosphate buffer pH 7. The method was validated and the linearity range was established, which was in the range of 0.1 – 1000 ng/g, depending of the compound. The recoveries for the target pharmaceuticals were in the range of 24.0 – 108.5 %, with good reproducibility as the relative RSD values for all compounds were below 7.5 %. LOQ values for the compounds were in the 0.1 – 50 ng/g range. We applied the method to the fish tissue samples from the river Sava and from the aquaculture establishment. We chose muscle, liver, skin and kidney tissue samples. The results showed presence of tramadol and carbamazepine in some tissue, but the concentrations were below the LOQ.