The Coastal Mediterranean Monitoring Network Project: Radionuclide Survey

The Water Management Plan (WMP) prepared for the Rhone Mediterranean Corsica region by the competent French Water Agency in implementation of the 1992 Law on Water regulations, includes provisions for the coastal zone. One of the basic requirements is the implementation of a comprehensive tool to improve both the knowledge and assessment of coastal water quality: the Coastal Mediterranean Monitoring Network. Among the proposed additional surveys, the institution of uniform, permanent monitoring of various pollutants (including radionuclides) has been adopted. In this context, a preliminary study was run using moored shellfish caging devices at more than 80 stations along the French Mediterranean coast. Half of them were selected for radioactivity measurement. This work, undertaken jointly by IFREMER, the Water Agency and IPSN has produced the first outline of the pollution situation for the French Mediterranean coast along the 30 m isobath. The results are compared with those regularly obtained through the IPSN marine observatory and will help re-focus the radionuclide survey.