Ecological Risk Assessment
Ecological risk assessment is the process of evaluating the likelihood and magnitude of effects to organisms from exposure to stressors (such as chemicals or habitat alterations). SETAC has a long history with advancing the science behind ecological risk assessment.
Fact Sheets
Workshop Summaries
- Criteria for Environmental Concentration and Exposure Datasets
2022 SETAC Technical Workshop
- Improving the Usability of Ecotoxicology in Regulatory Decision-Making
2015 SETAC Pellston Workshop - A Multi-Stakeholder Framework for Ecological Risk Management
1997 SETAC Technical Workshop
Articles
- Open Science in Regulatory Environmental Risk Assessment
IEAM 17: 1229–1242 (2021) - Does Environmental Assessment Have a Replication Problem?
IEAM 15: 1031–1033 (2019) - Creation of a Curated Aquatic Toxicology Database: EnviroTox
ET&C 38: 1062–1073 (2019) - Toxicity Studies Used in REACH – How Accurately are they Reported?
IEAM 15: 458–469 (2019) - New Approach to Weight-of-Evidence Assessment of Ecotoxicological Effects in Regulatory Decision-Making
IEAM 13: 573–579 (2017) - What Training and Skills will the Ecotoxicologists of the Future Require?
IEAM 13: 580–584 (2017) - Assessing the Reliability of Ecotoxicological Studies: An Overview of Current Needs and Approaches
IEAM 13: 640–651 (2017) - Assessing the Relevance of Ecotoxicological Studies for Regulatory Decision-Making
IEAM 13: 652–663 (2017) - CRED: Criteria for Reporting and Evaluating Ecotoxicity Data
ET&C 35: 1297–1309 (2016) - Evaluation of Criteria Used to Assess the Quality of Aquatic Toxicity Data
IEAM 1: 174–180 (2005)
SETAC Books

- Population-Level Ecological Risk Assessment
- Valuation of Ecological Resources: Integration of Ecology and Socioeconomics
Data Usability
There is an abundance of scientific data at times, but it is not always usable. At SETAC, we encourage improvements in all ecotoxicology studies, regardless of original purpose, for the end goal of usability in environmental management.
Articles
- It is Time to Develop Ecological Thresholds of Toxicological Concern to Assist Environmental Hazard Assessment
ET&C 34: 2864–2869 (2015) - Ecological Soil Clean-up Values for Metals
IEAM Special Series 10: 321–482 (2014) - Spatially Explicit Ecological Exposure Models: A Rationale for and Path Toward Their Increased Acceptance and Use
IEAM 7: 158–168 (2011) - The Tissue Residue Approach for Toxicity Assessment
IEAM Special Series 7: 1–154 (2011) - Ecological Risk Assessment and Natural Resource Damage Assessment: Synthesis of Assessment Procedures
IEAM Special Series 5: 496–534 (2009) - In Situ-based Effects Measures Linking Responses to Ecological Consequences in Aquatic Ecosystems
IEAM Special Series 3: 234–289 (2007)
Interest Group
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