In cooperation with the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH), the Universität Hamburg, the University of Applied Sciences (HAW) and the University of Aachen (RWTH), researchers from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon Institute for Coastal Environmental Chemistry investigated changes in pollutant levels in the North Sea over an interval time. The results showed that a diverse cocktail of chemicals has been polluting the environment, especially during the last 100 years. They also found out that a decrease in pollution only became apparent in the environment decades after the substances were banned. The results of the study have now been published in the journal Environmental Pollution.