Effects of the endocrine disrupter chemicals chlordane and lindane on the male green neon shrimp (Neocaridina denticulata)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of chlordane and lindane on morphological changes and endocrine disruption in male Green neon shrimp (Neocaridina denticulata). In this experiment, individuals of N. denticulata, a common inhabitant of freshwater systems in Taiwan, were exposed to chlordane (1 and 10 ng/l) and lindane (0.1 and 1 μg/l). Morphological changes and reproductive hormone levels were observed following four weeks exposure. According to our findings, an increase in estrogen, a reduction in testosterone, and morphological alternations of the masculine appendage were observed in both chlordane- and lindane-treated shrimp, while induction of a vitellogenin-like protein appeared only in shrimp treated with 10 ng/l chlordane. An endocrine disruption effect on N. denticulata was demonstrated, and may apply to other organochlorine pesticides or endocrine disruption chemicals.     

Registering and analysing data on detection of chemicals in the environment

As part of the research project “information system for environmental chemicals” a factual databank on a testset of 68 chemicals was developed. The set-up of the databank is described and the analysis of the results is shown for benzo(k)fluoranthene using a graphical boxplot illustration.     

Life Cycle Assessment as Part of Sustainability Assessment for Chemicals (5 pp)

Background LCA is the only internationally standardized environmental assessment tool (ISO 14040-43) for product systems, including services and processes. The analysis is done ‘from cradle-to-grave’, i.e. over the whole life cycle. LCA is essentially a comparative method: different systems fulfilling the same function (serving the same purpose) are compared on the basis of a ‘functional unit’ - a quantitative measure of this function or purpose. It is often believed that LCA can be used for judging the (relative) sustainability of product systems. This is only partly true, however, since LCA is restricted to the environmental part of the triad ‘environment/ecology - economy - social aspects (including intergenerational fairness)’ which constitutes sustainability. Standardized assessment tools for the second and the third part are still lacking, but Life Cycle Costing (LCC) seems to be a promising candidate for the economic part. Social Life Cycle Assessment still has to be developed on the basis of known social indicators.Method and Limitations LCA is most frequently used for the comparative assessment or optimization analysis of final products. Materials and chemicals are difficult to analyse from cradle-to-grave, since they are used in many, often innumerable product systems, which all would have to be studied in detail to give a complete LCA of a particular material or substance! This complete analysis of a material or chemical is evidently only possible in such cases where one main application exists. But even if one main application does exist, e.g. in the case of surfactants (chemicals) and detergents (final products), the latter may exist in a great abundance of compositions. Therefore, chemicals and materials are better analysed ‘from cradle-to-factory gate’, leaving the analysis of the final product(s), the use phase and the ‘end-of-life’ phases to specific, full LCAs.Conclusion A comparative assessment of production processes is possible, if the chemicals (the same is true for materials) produced by different methods have exactly the same properties. In this case, the downstream phases may be considered as a ‘black box’ and left out of the assessment. Such truncated LCAs can be used for environmental comparisons, but less so for the (environmental) optimization analysis of a specific chemical: the phases considered as ‘black box’ and left out may actually be the dominant ones. A sustainability assessment should be performed at the product level and contain the results of LCC and social assessments. Equal and consistent system boundaries will have to be used for these life cycle tools which only together can fulfil the aim of assessing the sustainability of product systems.     

Ecotoxicological Characterisation and Classification of Existing Chemicals

GOAL, SCOPE AND BACKGROUND: In 1998, the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) launched a global initiative to investigate more than 1,000 HPV chemicals (High Production Volume, > or = 1,000 t/a) within the refocused OECD HPV Chemicals Programme. Up to the OECD SIDS Initial Assessment Meeting in April 2004 (SIAM 18) 147 ICCA dossiers (ca. 230 CAS-No) have been assessed based on a harmonised data set. The environmental profile and an ecotoxicological characterisation of these chemicals are presented here. Data for acute aquatic toxicity were correlated among each other, as well as data for fish (LC50, LD50) and rodents (LD50). The data for acute aquatic toxicity are compared with other existing chemicals. METHODS: Data of the ICCA HPV chemicals from the OECD SIAM 11-18 are presented for: log Kow (as an indicator for bioaccumulation potential), biodegradation, acute aquatic toxicity and availability of long-term toxicity data. Correlation analysis was performed with log transformed data and a linear regression model was fitted to the data, if a significant correlation was found. Acute toxicity for fish and acute oral toxicity for rodents were correlated on a molar basis. Acute aquatic toxicity of the chemicals is compared with data from BUA reports 1-234 and a random EINECS sample (Knacker et al. 1995). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: According to the dossier information, 71 of the 147 ICCA chemicals are not 'readily biodegradable', 21 have a log Kow > or = 3, and 44 are 'toxic' (LC/EC50 < or = 10 mg/L) or 'very toxic' (LC/EC50 < or = 1 mg/L) to aquatic organisms. For 77, only the base set (acute fish, Daphnia and algae) is available, for the rest at least one long-term test (fish or Daphnia) is available and three tests for a mere 14 others. Based on the data presented, the SIAM gives recommendations for Environment and Human Health. 22 chemicals have been identified as a 'candidate for further work' for Environment and 16 for Human Health. The highest correlation coefficient was obtained correlating fish and Daphnia (r2 = 0.79). LC50 (fish) is significantly correlated with LD50 (rodent), but data are widely scattered. The correlation is not improved after transforming LC50 (fish) to LD50 (fish), using BCF QSAR. Based on acute aquatic toxicity, 25.1% of the chemicals from the BUA reports 1-234 are classified as 'very toxic' (LC/EC50 < or = 1 mg/L). This proportion is 2.5-fold higher than the ICCA HPV chemicals and 1.4-fold higher than the random EINECS sample. CONCLUSIONS: Correlation coefficients for aquatic toxicity data are rather uniform (0.57-0.79) compared with literature data, but also the best correlation was observed between fish and Daphnia. Because the scatter around the regression lines is still considerable, simple predictions of ecotoxicity between species are not possible. Correlation of LC50 (fish) and LD50 (rodent) indicates that toxicity is different. Surprisingly, the correlation of fish and rodent toxicity is not improved by transforming LC50 values to internal LD50s. The selection of ICCA chemicals by market significance (production volume) leads to a classification of toxicity, which is more comparable to a random sample of EINECS chemicals than to German BUA chemicals. The latter were chosen for concern (for Environment or Human Health). RECOMMENDATIONS AND OUTLOOK: Of 147 dossiers assessed between SIAM 11-18, ca. 75% were sponsored by the three following countries: Germany (42), USA (37) and Japan (33). The current output is about 50 dossiers per year (70-100 CAS-No), but a trend for an increase of output is noticeable. Industry, national authorities, and OECD work on a further development to speed up the output. The number of chemicals with 'low priority for further work' and the work recommended for the 'candidates' (mainly exposure assessment) indicate that the data presented were adequate for an initial hazard assessment according to OECD requirements. From the ICCA HPV list (n = 880, state of 1999) 44% of the chemicals have data available to cover all SIDS endpoints for Environment and only 33% for Human Health (Allanou et al. 1999). This indicates the importance of the Initiative to provide information on existing chemicals. The authors agree with the expectation "...that the scientific information provided by this global initiative will be considered as an internationally accepted and harmonised basis for further steps of chemicals management." (ICCA 2002 b).     

Selection of Bioindicators of Pollution for Marine Monitoring Programmes

The ultimate management concerns related to toxic chemicals in the marine environment are for the magnitude and extent of biological effects, including those on human health, that may result. Over the past several years, the National Status and Trends (NS&T) Program of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has supported the development and application of a number of bioeffects measurements, including biochemical indicators of contaminant exposure and of reproductive status in fish, prevalence of histopathological lesions, toxicity bioassays of sediments and water, and benthic community structural features. Some of these measurements have been applied as part of regular sampling at the nationwide network of NS&T sites, while others have been assessed in more intensive, regional studies. Our experience with different indicators is summarized and discussed in relation to a set of monitoring objectives and evaluation criteria. Current conclusions are: (a) iterative application of controlled laboratory experiments and field validation tests are required to verify causality and mechanisms of biological responses to contaminants; (b) contaminant concentrations, indicator species, and local conditions vary considerably in different areas and at different times, requiring the use of different effects measurements oriented toward specific objectives and hypotheses; and (c) tiered, sequential application of a mix of indicators, including direct measurements on indigenous organisms and indirect bioassay approaches, is useful and effective for estimating the magnitude and spatial extent of contaminant bioeffects.     

危险化学品安全人才体系建设的探讨

从加强危险化学品安全人才体系建设来提高危险化学品安全管理水平的角度出发．针对安全监管人才队伍、企业安全人才队伍,以及安全中介机构人才队伍3个方面,分析了我国危化品安全人才的现状、存在的不足,并提出了加强安全人才队伍体系建设的具体措施建议。     

《突发性污染事故中常见危险品档案库》研制

研制建立了《突发性污染事故中常见危险品档案库》,从 1档案库的内容—— 1 3 0 0余种化学危险品六个方面的信息和环境保护相关信息 ,2档案库的计算机实现技术两大方面进行了研究和开发 ,并制成了《突发性污染事故中常见危险品档案库》光盘。该档案库是对化学危险品引起的突发性污染事故进行快速处理的技术信息支持库 ,是为环境管理、环境监测、环境监察、环境卫生、化学危险品管理等行业的管理和技术人员提供的实用工具软件     

高校化学实验室有害气体的分析与管理

通过对高校实验室各种有害气体的分析，提出了加强实验室管理的建议，以促进高校实验室的科学管理，保护操作人员及周围人员的身体健康，保护实验室周围的大气环境。     

危险化学品生产与储存场所的安全库容评价模型与方法研究

危险化学品生产与储存场所的危险化学品库容风险是反映危险化学品生产与储存场所安全与否的重要指标,为增加评估危险化学品库容量时的客观性、准确性,在统筹其3类主要事故模型的基础上,建立了危险化学品生产与储存场所的危险化学品库容风险当量评估模型。该模型以传统风险理论为载体,不仅对单一危险源的伤害风险进行计算,且对各种危险化学品的不同库容事故损失、发生概率、伤害风险做统一关联分析,以使危险化学品库存地的风险实现合理叠加。再根据相同区域风险值和当量的叠加,结合区域坐标、人员密度、风险界限,通过MATLAB仿真模拟,确定危险化学品生产与储存场所整体风险区域图,进而标出危险致命区域,计算库容临界量。     

水生态模拟系统及其在化学品生态风险评估中的应用

水生态模拟系统是用于高层次化学品生态风险评估的测试模型,目前在国外已经广泛用于工业化学品、农药、兽药、重金属等单一化学物质和复杂混合物的生态风险评估研究,而我国的相关研究比较匮乏。随着我国化学品风险评估体系的完善,水生态模拟系统测试必将作为作为单一生物毒性测试的有效补充。在此背景下,简述了水生态模拟系统的分类、研究方法和结果外推方法;从单一化学物质暴露作用下的生态危害评估、多种化学物质联合暴露作用下的生态危害评估以及目标化学物质的归趋分析三个方面阐述了水生态模拟系统在国内外化学品风险评估科学研究中的应用,对比了水生态模拟系统和单一物种毒性测试结果和基于两种测试数据的生态危害评估结果。与此同时,分析了水生态模拟系统在国内外化学品环境管理中的应用情况。在此基础上,对我国发展水生态模拟系统所存在的问题及解决方案提出了建议。