A Snapshot of What’s New in Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management

Sabine Apitz, IEAM Editor-in-Chief

European pesticide registration requires a risk assessment for non-target organisms. Guidance documents consider exposure scenarios for organisms typical for terrestrial crops. Multiple species frequency data sources can be used to identify focal species for higher-tier risk assessment.

Valerio Orioli, Alessandra Caffi, Flavio Marchetto, Olivia Dondina and Luciano Bani developed an analytical framework to calculate species frequency according to availability of species and habitat quantitative data. Since the exposure scenarios reported in the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) guidance documents are inconsistent for rice, they tested the method on birds and mammals in a portion of the largest rice-cultivated area of Europe, the Italian Po floodplain. Using differing data approaches, focal species were identified for crop-specific diet-foraging guilds to build pesticide application exposure scenarios for rice field risk assessment. They identified a need for national lists, which can vary according to study area, biogeographic region and exposure scenarios. They concluded that their proposed method should lead to crop-specific lists in European rice-producing countries, which could then be integrated to obtain a flexible European list applicable to higher-tier risk assessment.

California adopted the Safer Consumer Products (SCP) regulations in 2013. Companies that manufacture specific products containing designated chemicals of concern must complete an alternatives analysis to avoid regrettable substitution by identifying, comparing and selecting safer alternatives based on technical functions, hazards, exposure pathways, life cycle multimedia impacts and economic impacts. This expands existing frameworks for alternatives assessments (AAs).

Kelly A. Grant, Lynn Nakayama Wong, Qingyu Meng, Heather Lee, Diana Phelps, Suzanne Davis, Melissa Salinas, Tony Luan and Xiaoying Zhou report on a study aiming to identify AA practices that facilitate robust assessment, align with SCP requirements, and identify gaps. They find that the SCP alternatives analysis framework remains at the forefront of safer chemistry by embracing transparent hazard assessments at the core of AAs and extending those to examine both toxicological- and exposure-related hazard traits affecting human and ecological health, as well as the environment. They identify gaps and recommend a path forward to refine best practice and resolve challenges.

Nitrate is a naturally occurring nutrient and globally significant surface water contaminant associated with many anthropogenic activities, including mining. Unless appropriately managed, excess nitrate may have adverse effects on aquatic ecosystems, including nuisance algal and plant growth and toxicity to algae, plants and animals. The Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality recommend an interim default guideline value (DGV) for nitrate in freshwater of 2.4 mg/L NO3-N, for slightly to moderately disturbed ecosystems, but increased water hardness and lower temperatures may affect NO3 toxicity, arguing for site-specific guidance values (SSGVs) in relevant cases.

Rick A. van Dam, Karin Bankin and David Parry report on a study in which they derived SSGVs for nitrate toxicity that reflect the high hardness characteristics of the Pilbara region in north-western Australia, where the DGV is not applicable to local water quality and species conditions. They conclude that an assessment of the appropriateness of the SSGVs indicated that they were likely to be appropriately protective of nitrate toxicity for the high hardness receiving waters in Pilbara in north‐western Australia, the world's largest iron ore‐producing region.

Author’s contact: Sabine Apitz summarizes the research being published in IEAM on her Linked In page and can be reached at [email protected]