Use of effect-based methods for the evaluation and controlling of wastewater discharges from industrial plants - contribution to the activities within the framework of OSPAR
Suitability of bioassays (et al) for the controlling of wastewater within the frame of OSPAR’s strategy on dangerous substances.
Sponsor:
German Environmental Agency, Dessau (FKZ 20119304 and FKZ 205 44 324/01)
Realisation:
Hydrotox GmbH, Stefan Gartiser (project management)
Project duration:
July 2001 – December 2003 and November 2005 – April 2007
Former project:
In summer 1999 Hydrotox GmbH was commissioned by the German Environmental Agency to compile a draft of a background document on "Ecotoxicological Evaluation of Wastewater within Whole Effluent Assessment", which has been submitted as an official document of the Germany authorities for the Oslo-Paris-Commission for the protection of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR) and which meanwhile has been published by OSPAR (ISBN 0 946955 98 0, download pdf Report 117 (2000).
In this document a survey of available test methods for the assessment of wastewater and the experience and test strategies of member states is summarised.
Hereto Stefan Gartiser contributed by order of the German Environmental Agency to the OSPAR expert group on "Whole Effluent Assessment", in order to support the concept concerning the use of bioassays for wastewater evaluation and control.
Summary of the final report FKZ 20119304
Within the terminated project the activities of the German Federal Environmental Agency in the development of a "Whole Effluent Assessment" (WEA) concept within the framework of OSPAR (Oslo - Paris Convention) was supported. The aim of WEA is to evaluate waste water discharges by measuring their persistency, bioaccumulation potential and toxicity (ecotoxicity, genotoxicity/mutagenicity, endocrine disrupters). For doing so, the consultant participated in the OSPAR expert group WEA. Overall reports about suitable methods for determining "genotoxicity" and "endocrine disrupters" were prepared, and text parts and comments to other OSPAR-reports (e.g. biodegradation and persistence) were elaborated. Additionally, the German contribution of a first OSPAR-WEA "Demonstrations Program" was organised, performed and further evaluated. A total of 4 wastewater samples have been investigated.
Several emission- and immission-based WEA-approaches were presented. The emission-based strategy favoured in Germany has been successfully applied in the past and follows the precautionary principle. A proposal for integrating persistency and bioaccumulation into the present methodology is presented. Applying the immission-based principle with PEC/PNEC-comparison, the same criteria used for the setting of chemical quality standards should be used. That means that a test battery and safety factors should be applied and that the PEC-evaluation should be referred to the low-flow rate of the receiving waters. The WEA-concept could gain further importance for the detection and emission control of priority substances not detected by routine chemical analysis within the future implementation of the EU-water-framework-directive. These possibilities should be actively accompanied in the future.
Further information
The most relevant outcomes of the OSPAR-WEA working group can be downloaded from the OSPAR-Website (www.ospar.org).
Report 219 (2005): Whole Effluent Assessment Report (containing the results of the practical study programme 2003 and the background document on degradability and liability to bioaccumulate – Methods used in whole effluent assessment)
Report 174 (2003): Survey of the use of effect related methods to assess and monitor wastewater discharges - Testing of endocrine effects
Report 156 (2002): Survey on Genotoxicity Test Methods for the Evaluation of Waste Water within Whole Effluent Assessment
Report 219 (2005): SWhole Effluent Assessment Report (containing the results of the practical study programme 2003 and the background document on degradability and liability to bioaccumulate).
Report 315 (2007): OSPAR Practical Study 2005 on Whole Effluent Assessment.
Report 316 (2007): OSPAR’s practical Guidance Document on Whole Effluent Assessment.
Contact Person
Dr. Sefan Gartiser
e-mail: Gartiser(at)hydrotox.de
Tel.: +49-(0)761-45512-24