Ecological risk assessments of mixtures and effluents for Canadian priority substances: Framework and case studies
Conference
·
OSTI ID:230916
- Environment Canada, Hull, Quebec (Canada)
Most of the work performed in environmental toxicology has focused on individual chemicals. However, chemicals are often released as complex mixtures (e.g., oils, creosote) and as complex effluents (e.g., chlorinated wastewater effluents, pulp mill effluents). Mixtures and effluents listed on the Priority Substances List (PSL) are assessed under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) to determine whether they cause harm to the environment. The framework used to assess such substances is the same as for individual chemicals and involves the following procedure: problem formulation, characterization of entry, exposure, and effects and risk characterization. In this presentation, the author will discuss the type of information required to characterize entry, exposure and effects of complex mixtures and effluents (e.g., whole material versus surrogate parameters, field studies, monitoring of key constituents) and the preferred approaches used for estimating ecological risk (e.g., surveys of community structure, population survival, in-stream toxicity testing conducted upstream and downstream of discharges, etc.). The advantages, limitations and objectives of these approaches will be discussed. The practical application of the framework will be illustrated using examples of mixtures and effluents included on the first CEPA PSL.
- OSTI ID:
- 230916
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9511137--; ISBN 1-880611-03-1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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