In this case, however, neither water nor sediments will be tested, but mussels. The aim is to see what impact pollutants in the water can have on organisms. As mussels count as the filters of water bodies, they are a very good indicator of the condition of the water.
Long-term pollutants, such as micropollutants and industrial pollutants, can be traced particularly well in mussels. Although these are not being emitted as much in the modern day, they will be present in our waters for a long time to come. They therefore must be taken into consideration if we wish to analyse and predict the water conditions of the next two decades, explains Jean-Paul Lickes of the water management office.
To do so, the mussels have to be kept in filtered water for two days so that they can first rinse out everything. Then they are frozen and sent to laboratories, where analyses are then carried out. Jochen Fischer of the Rhineland-Palatinate State Office for Water Protection explains that the pollutant concentrations have to be measured down very low in order to get close to the limit of determination or the environmental quality standards.
The results are finally compared with other samples and submitted to Brussels. This is the only way to create an overall picture of the state of the water. To this end, it is important to continue measuring, especially over the summer, when the water becomes rare again due to the long droughts, explains Saarland Environment Minister Petra Berg. The pollutants can be more concentrated at those time.
The Max Prüss was provided by North Rhine-Westphalia and has replaced the old laboratory ship.
