Welcome. This site contains information about the activities of the Ecological Risk Assessment Advisory Group (or ERAAG), which is a part of SETAC, a worldwide organization. ERAAG members are principally members of SETAC but participation in ERAAG activities is open to all interested parties.

Chair: Larry Kapustka (Kapustka@shaw.ca)
Co-chair: Wayne Munns (munns.wayne@epa.gov)
Newsletter: Beth Power (bpower@azimuthgroup.ca)
Web Site: Paige Leitman (PLeitman@environcorp.com)
EcoVaulation Workgroup: Ralph Stahl (Ralph.G.Stahl-Jr@usa.dupont.com)
Population ERA Workgroup: Larry Barnthouse (lwb.env@attglobal.net)
Precautionary Principle Workgroup: Hans Sanderson (hsander@uoguelph.ca)
 
The ERAAG has three main workgroups - EcoValuation, Population Ecological Risk Assessment, and the Precautionary Principle.

Mission:

UNCERTAINTY: to reduce uncertainty in the process;

INSTITUTIONALIZATION: to promote the institutionalization of its use in environmental planning and assessments;

HARMONIZATION: and to encourage the harmonization of assessment methods worldwide.

The ERA Advisory Group's goals are to:

• Maintain a long-range strategic plan for participation in the advancement of ecological risk assessment as a science;   
• Serve as focal point for identification, resolution and communication of ecological risk assessment issues;
• Review and advise on project proposals;
• Provide a neutral platform for collaborative evaluation of scientific issues by diverse groups of stakeholders; and
• Stimulate critical evaluation, validation and transfer of ERA technologies among the stakeholders.

... STRATEGIC PLANNING ... BE A FOCAL POINT... REVIEW ...
PROVIDE A PLATFORM ... SPREAD TECHNOLOGIES ...

News

This column covers current international news and activities related to
ecological risk assessment.  Aside from the contributions of ERAAG
committees, many of these articles are gleaned from newsletters, list
servers, websites etc. and those sources are gratefully acknowledged.
In addition, if you come across something you think others would want
to know about, drop me an email. In particular, readers want to hear
about new ecorisk guidance and what is up-and-coming in ecorisk
activities.

New Guidance and Regulations

Scientific issues in the risk assessment of metals – US EPA

A
series of papers has been developed in support of an ongoing effort
within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop an
integrated framework for metals risk assessment. In September 2002, a
cross-Agency technical panel discussed plans for the development of the
framework and associated guidance with the Agency's Science Advisory
Board (SAB). During the advisory, the SAB affirmed the importance of
incorporating external input into the Agency's effort. As part of the
effort to engage stakeholders and the scientific community and to build
on existing experience, the Agency commissioned external experts to
lead the development of papers on issues and state-of-the-art
approaches in metals risk assessment for several key topics. Topics
identified include: environmental chemistry; exposure; ecological
effects; human health effects; and bioavailability and bioaccumulation.
(Some individual EPA experts contributed specific discussions on
topic(s) for which he or she has either specific expertise or knowledge
of current Agency practice). Although Agency technical staff, as well
as representatives from other Federal agencies, reviewed and commented
on previous drafts, the comments were addressed at the discretion of
each respective author or group of authors. Therefore, the views
expressed are those of the authors and should not be construed as
implying EPA consent or endorsement. The topics covered include:

• Issue paper on the bioavailability and bioaccumulation of metals (draft)
• Issue paper on the ecological effects of metals (draft)
• Issue paper on metal exposure assessment (draft)
• Issue paper on the environmental chemistry of metals (draft)
• Issue paper on the human health effects of metals (draft)

You can view the papers at http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/raf/recordisplay.cfm?deid=59052.

The
draft papers were made available for public comment (to November 7
2003) consistent with EPA's commitment to provide opportunities for
external input. Science-based comments received on these papers will be
made available to authors for final disposition.

ERA outputs from research by Metals in the Environment Research Network

A
key objective of the Metals in the Environment Research (MITE) Research
Network is to improve ERA for metals. MITE adopted the ERA model for
the Network, specifically developing projects in three main ERA
components (termed domains within MITE-RN): Hazard Identification
(Sources); Exposure Assessment (Processes); and Effects Assessment
(Impacts). In the ERA model, these three components are integrated into
Risk Characterisation, to assess the probability of risk. Risk
Characterisation is the joint responsibility of Peter Chapman (EVS
Environment Consultants) and Peter Campbell (Network Principal
Investigator). One of the major ERA accomplishments in Year 4 has been
the development of a comprehensive synthesis of the ERA implications of
each MITE-RN project, in tabular form.

This compilation provides
a concise summary of the ERA implications of each project, and
identifies how the new research findings may/should change the way
ecological risk assessments are performed for metals. The summary table
is regularly updated as new results become available.

Environment Agency (England and Wales) – ERA Consultation

The
Environment Agency is inviting anyone with expertise in performing
Environmental Risk Assessments (ERAs) to take part in a public
consultation on a proposed Framework and methods for assessing how
chemical contaminants in the soil pose risks to ecosystems.

ERA
is a relatively new approach in the UK to quantifying the risk of
significant harm to organisms and their ecosystems, but it is already a
requirement of a number of regulatory regimes, such as Part IIA of the
Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Habitats Directive. The
Agency has launched this consultation to ensure that its proposed
Framework encodes the best available science into a coherent and
practical procedure to protect our environment.

The consultation
was launched on 11 December 2003 and runs until 31 March 2004. The
mechanism for consultation, the technical aspects of the proposed
Framework and a subset of suitable tests are available on-line at http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/yourenv/consultations/current_consultations/

The
consultation documents comprises four components: a tiered framework
for determining the risk of harm to defined eco-receptors on
contaminated land; definitions and quantitative criteria for harm; soil
screening values; and biological and ecotoxicological tests for
measuring harm.

The consultation involves two types of
collaboration: first, with peer reviewers, who are invited to use their
expertise to comment on the proposed framework between now and the end
of March 2004; second, with partners, who will use and comment on the
proposed framework on their own sites during the next year. The Agency
will use the information from the consultation to refine the proposed
framework, which it will validate by mid-2005.

Your response and any queries should be directed to Samantha Fishwick, Soil Quality & Protection Team, Bristol, UK.

E: samantha.fishwick@environment-agency.gov.uk
T: +44 (0)117 914 2902
F: +44 (0)117 914 2929

Effects Assessment

Additional Scientific Reviews of Herbicide Atrazine Completed

In
January 2003, EPA issued an “Interim Re-registration Eligibility
Decision” for the widely-used pesticide atrazine, culminating a
multi-year assessment.  Specific risk mitigation measures were
described for potential human health concerns, however the document
committed to future development of measures for mitigating ecological
risks.  As a follow-up, an addendum to the January document was
released on October 31 2003.  The addendum discusses ecological
monitoring and risk mitigation within sensitive watersheds, the most
current scientific information regarding potential effects of atrazine
on amphibians. Specifically to target monitoring of ecologically
vulnerable watersheds, the manufacturers of atrazine are required to
monitor residue levels in 40 indicator watersheds that are
representative of watersheds that may be vulnerable  to  contamination
where atrazine is regularly used. Go to: http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/reregistration/atrazine/atrazineadd.pdf for more information. (Source, EPA Press Advisory10/31/03)

Opportunities and Events

EPA – On-line ecological risk assessment training

This
website is intended to teach those relatively new to ERA about
ecological risk assessment step by step, allowing viewers to go as deep
as they want to into resource materials. The website has a quick
reference “what is ecological risk assessment?” introductory section,
five course modules, and interactive components. This training is based
on the EPA's Guidelines for Ecological Risk Assessment. Go to: http://www.erg.com/portfolio/elearn/ecorisk/html/

E-mail the ERAAG webmaster: pleitman@environcorp.com