Toxicological Benchmarks for Screening Potential Contaminants of Concern for Effects on Terrestrial Plants
One of the initial stages in ecological risk assessment for hazardous waste sites is screening contaminants to determine which of them are worthy of further consideration as contaminants of potential concern. This process is termed contaminant screening. It is performed by comparing measured ambient concentrations of chemicals to benchmark concentrations. Currently, no standard benchmark concentrations exist for assessing contaminants in soil with respect to their toxicity to plants. This report presents a standard method for deriving benchmarks for this purpose (phytotoxicity benchmarks), a set of data concerning effects of chemicals in soil or soil solution on plants, and a set of phytotoxicity benchmarks for 38 chemicals potentially associated with United States Department of Energy (DOE) sites. In addition, background information on the phytotoxicity and occurrence of the chemicals in soils is presented, and literature describing the experiments from which data were drawn for benchmark derivation is reviewed. Chemicals that are found in soil at concentrations exceeding both the phytotoxicity benchmark and the background concentration for the soil type should be considered contaminants of potential concern.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 814251
- Report Number(s):
- ES/ER/TM-85; TRN: US200317%%23
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 1 Jan 1993
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Toxicological benchmarks for screening potential contaminants of concern for effects on terrestrial plants. Environmental Restoration Program
Toxicological benchmarks for screening potential contaminants of concern for effects of terrestrial plants: 1995 Revision