Data ranges in aquatic toxicity of chemicals |
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Authors: | Guntram Koller Konrad Hungerbühler Karl Fent |
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Institution: | 1. ETH, Safety and Environmental Technology Group, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH-Zentrum, CAB C32.5, Universit?tsstrasse 6, CH-8092, Zürich, Switzerland 2. Swiss Federal Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (EAWAG) and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Ueberlandstrasse 133, CH-8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland
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Abstract: | A significant problem for effect assessment of aquatic ecosystems arises from the large ranges of toxicity data, which can
be found in different databases and literature. Here, ranges are given for the aquatic toxicity of 27 high production volume
chemicals. Based on these illustrative examples and on the current literature on uncertainty in aquatic effect assessment,
toxicity ranges are discussed for their possible causes (variation in experimental condition, species, endpoint, time) and
ways to handle them (safety factors). Implications and recommendations on the procedure of risk analysis of chemical substances
are drawn. Two main requirements for a comprehensive risk assessment are identified, which often play a minor role in current
practice (as they are often neglected) as well as in scientific discussion (as they are meant to be trivial). First, data
quality must be checked critically before applying any result of a toxicity test. Secondly, experimental data should take
into account different species and acute as well as chronic data. If these aspects are considered in risk analysis, which
is common practice in ecotoxicology but not always in the context of practical applications in risk engineering, a more comprehensive
picture of the environmental toxicity of a chemical substance can be obtained. |
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Keywords: | Aquatic toxicity data range ecological risk assessment effect assessment uncertainty |
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