All Polish Marine Reporting Units have been assessed to be of subGES with regard to certain PBT substances (in some cases, monitoring results confirming subGES status have been obtained after 2016 as a result of expansion of the monitoring programme). Heavy metals, such as cadmium, lead and mercury continue to be released to the environment from various sources. While Poland contributes to the inuts of these metals to the Baltic, existing HELCOM data indicate that actions by Poland may not be sufficient to reduce heavy metal levels to GES thresholds. This is particularly true for mercury, the great majority of which, according to HELCOM data, comes from outside Poland and even from outside Europe. Therefore, responsiblity for necessary measures should be shared by the emitting countries.

All Polish Marine Reporting Units have been assessed to be of subGES with regard to certain PBT substances (in some cases, monitoring results confirming subGES status have been obtained after 2016 as a result of expansion of the monitoring programme). Existing trends show that some contaminants which have long been banned (PBDE, heptachlor) or are the results of past activities or events (cesium 137) are removed from the environment at rates which may prevent the achievement of GES by 2027. Natural processes are the only sensible way to eliminate these contaminants. Since these processes cannot be enhanced, an exception is justified. The expected dates by which GES may be reached vary between the contaminants and the Reporting Units. In the case of PBDE, they range from 2042 to 2086, for heptachlor they have been very tentatively estimated at 2024 - 2030. In the case of cesium 137, it is likely, though by no means certain, that GES will be reached around 2027.