Aquatic ecological risk assessment guidance based on chemical-specific considerations
Conference
·
OSTI ID:203640
- NOAA, Seattle, WA (United States). Hazardous Materials Response and Assessment Division
Despite the current emphasis on ``Problem Formulation`` in Ecological Risk Assessment Guidance, too often measurement endpoints do not fit the question asked. In order to provide risk managers with information that will be useful in decision-making, chemical-specific considerations should be taken into account in designing the ecological risk assessment. Specifically, the risk assessor should consider the fate of the substance in the environment, the potential for bioaccumulation, and the types of known effects of the substance. The authors will discuss several major contaminant groups (including PCBs, PAHs, mercury, and other metals) and will provide examples of specific approaches to exposure and effects assessment for both screening level and more intensive risk assessments. Appropriate measurement endpoints, such as field surveys, toxicity tests, tissue chemistry, and biomarkers, will be discussed for each of the contaminant groups. For example, the authors point out that to address the potential impact of heavy metals (other than mercury) on aquatic organisms, sediment toxicity testing and benthic macroinvertebrate community assessments are useful tools yet the authors note that residue concentrations of higher trophic organisms are often collected but provide little useful information concerning ecological risk. Available benchmark values for water, sediment, and tissue residue that can be used to compare to exposure concentrations in screening level risk assessments will also be discussed. They believe the guidance provided here will assist those charged with ecological risk determination, and result in a scientifically defensible, yet cost-effective, assessment.
- OSTI ID:
- 203640
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9511137--; ISBN 1-880611-03-1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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