Contaminant screening is a basin-wide shore sampling programme devised by ROPME and carried out in collaboration with MEL/IAEA as a complementary project to the Oceanographic Cruises, so that the water, sediment and biota of the coastal areas are periodically sampled to ascertain the status of contaminants. Thus far, screening has been carried out five times, during 1994, 1997, 1998, 2000/2001 and 2005, resulting in an invaluable data base of contaminants and reports at ROPME.
Specifically, surveys of heavy metal and organic contaminants in sediments and biota have taken place in Bahrain, Kuwait and UAE (June 1994), in I.R. Iran, Oman and Qatar (1997), in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia (October 1998, in Qatar and UAE (March 2000), in Bahrain (November 2000) and in Oman (August 2001), in addition to the comprehensive survey undertaken between February-March 2005 for the same target analytes in the key coastal sites of all ROPME- Member States. In addition, estimation of Methyl Mercury in sediments and biota carried out during1994 (Bh-Ku-UAE) and 1998 (Ku- SA); Organotin in sediments and biota during 2000-2001 (Bh- Qa- UAE- Oman) and Faecal Sterols in sediment during 1994 (Bh-Ku-UAE) and 1998 (Ku-SA).
