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rvtrT '2»r— Ecotoxicological Assessments and the Setting of Limit Values for Chemicals in the Environment doriF- %on*7-~ EC EIV E D APR 2 4 #7 ST I Danish Academy of Technical Sciences ATV Ecotoxicological Assessments and the Setting of Limit Values for Chemicals in the Environment Proceedings from the ATV Conference January 1996 The ATV Committee on the Setting of Limit Values for Chemicals DSIRBBTiQN OF THIS DOCUMENT * UMLMTH) Ecotoxicological Assessments and the Setting of Limit Values for Chemicals in the Environment Danish Academy of Technical Sciences, ATV November 1996 Design: ATV Cover illustration: Susanne Bro Rosenam, 1996 Printing: Grafodan Offset ApS, DK-3500 Vaertese ISBN 87-7836-030-7 The ATV Committee on the Setting of Limit Values for Chemicals Emil Poulsen, Ph D., D.V.M. (Chairman) Toxicological Adviser, formerly the Danish Ministry of Health Christian Bastholm, M.Sc. Director of Production, Cheminova Agro A/S Anders Carlsen, M.D., Chemicals Dept., Danish Environmental Protection Agency Lisbeth Valentin Hansen, M.Sc., Director Danish Toxicology Centre, ATV Peter Jacobsen, M.D., Clinic of Occupational Health, The National Hospital of Denmark lb Knudsen, D.V.M., Head of Institute Institute of Toxicology, National Food Agency Preben Kristensen, M.Sc. VKI Water Quality Institute, ATV Hans Lokke, Ph.D., Director of Research Dept, of Terrestrial Ecology, National Environmental Research Institute Henning Ryssov-Nielsen, M.Sc., Environmental Director Danisco Ingredients Gunna Wiirtzen, M.Sc., Director Coca-Cola Denmark a/s Professional secretary andeditor: Susanne Bro Rosenam, M.Sc., ATV disclaimer Portions of this document may be illegible in electronic image products. Images are produced from the best available original document Preface 3 Preface The ATV Committee on the Setting of Limit Values for Chemicals held its first open conference in Denmark in March 1992 at Mogenstrup Kro, Zealand. The conference proceedings were entitled "Risk Management and Risk Assessment in Different Sectors in Denmark". The conference focused on risk assessment and the setting of limit values for chemicals in connection with human exposure to chemicals. The conference held in January 1996, which is covered by the present proceedings, dealt with the exposure of the environment to chemicals and the state-of-the-art as well as perspectives of ecotoxicological research. Special emphasis was placed on the illustration and discussion of the pro­ blems that have to be solved in order to secure satisfactory levels of protection of soil and aquatic environments in connection with exposure to chemicals. Also, problems connected with exposure through the at­ mosphere were discussed and exemplified by the work on the setting of limit values for tropospherical ozone. Furthermore, the global problems pertaining to what is believed to be the greenhouse effect and the degra ­ dation of the stratospherical ozone layer as well as the damage to crops caused by ozone were mentioned. The conference was extremely well-attended by researchers, administra ­ tors and representatives of trade and industry from many different sectors (the list of participants is given in Appendix II). The views and arguments adduced at the conference provided an excellent illustration of the very different perceptions and beliefs held by professionals on the subjects in this field. At the same time, the wide spectre of professional disciplines represented by the participants indicated a willingness by all parties to work towards greater openness and enhanced cooperationon the extreme ­ ly complicated problems generated in this professional field in terms of research, administration and policy. 4 Preface The conference was partly financially sponsored by the Danish Environ­ mental Protection Agency to whom the Academy convey its warmest thanks for this support of its work. Furthermore, the contributors to the proceedings are thanked for their participation in the conference and their interesting and inspiring papers. Apart from the papers presented at the conference, the present proceed­ ings contain i.a. the Chairmen’s Conclusions and Summaries of group discussions among the participants based on questions posed by the con­ ference organizers. Furthermore, a useful list of professional terms and abbreviations is found in Appendix I. It is the hope of the ATV Commit­ tee that the book will be a substantial contribution to the ongoing debate on ecotoxicological issues. With this conference the Committee fulfilled its mandate which was "to treat problems pertaining to the setting of limit values for chemicals in research, administration and practical application and to further the dialo­ gue and cooperation about these matters among relevant parties involved in toxicological research, public administration, legislation and industrial production". Subsequently, the Committee recommended its own abolition to the Go­ verning Board of the Academy. The application was followed by recom­ mendations of the Committee, and, particularly of the plenary of the present conference to continue some of the activities of the Committee as proposed in the Chairmen’s Conclusions. Emil Poulsen Chairman of the ATV Committee Contents 5 Contents Preface ........................................................................................................ 3 Chairmen’s Conclusions .......................................................................... 7 Discussion Groups - Conclusions on Soil ....................................... 13 Discussion Groups - Conclusions on Water.................................... 21 Conference Papers 1. The Environment and Man - an Overview ......................... 27 Finn Bro-Rasmussen, M.Sc., Professor 2. Ecotoxicology, State-of-the-Art ................................................43 Hans Lokke, Ph.D., Director of Research 3. SETAC and the SETAC-Europe Fifth Annual Congress . 57 Allan Astrup Jensen, Research Director 4. Regulation of Chemicals in Denmark, the EU and OECD . 61 Lone Schou, M.Sc., and Henrik Tyle, M.Sc. 5. Risk Assessment and Environmental Quality Objectives in the Netherlands .................................................................. 72 Dr. Carl A.J. Denneman 6. The Setting of Ecotoxicological Quality Criteria for Soil in Denmark ............................................................... 98 Lone Schou, M.Sc., and John Jensen, M.Sc. 6 Contents 7. Danish Agriculture Needs Limits for Soil Quality ..............107 Leif Knudsen, Senior Adviser 8. Waste Products to be Applied on Farmlands - Quality Targets and Environmental Risks .........................112 Preben Kristensen, M.Sc., Lise Samsoe-Petersen, M.Sc., and Jens Torslov, M.Sc. 9. Air Pollution and Ecology - From Local to Global Impacts 137 Dr.phil. Jes Fenger 10. Ozone as an Ecotoxicological Problem................................. 153 Lisbeth Mortensen, Ph.D. 11. A Summation of Problems in Connection with Research on Ecotoxicological Limit Values in Water .........................174 Finn Bro-Rasmussen, M.Sc., Professor 12. The Effect of Small Concentrations of Chemicals with Estrogen-like Activity in the Aquatic Environment . 177 Poul Bjerregaard, Professor, and Peter Gyorkos, M.Sc., Head of Section Appendix I List of Abbreviations and Special Terms .... 185 Appendix II List of Conference Participants ..........................189 Appendix DI Questions for the Discussion Groups on Soil . 192 Questions for the Discussion Groups on Water 193 Chairmen’s Conclusions 7 Chairmen’s Conclusions Closing Discussion at the Conference The striking feature of the conference was that, despite different prob­ lems, there was a general wish for the ecotoxicological research and application to go the way of human toxicology in the setting of limit values. Nevertheless, discussions reflected widely differing views on the objectives of the related research. It was, among other things, stressed that limit values are set to serve as soundings for decision-makers in the sense that they are the criteria for possible intervention. However, authorities do not stipulate that interven­ tion is compulsory in case a limit value is exceeded, and predetermined intervention procedures might impede the ranking of efforts and alterna­ tive solutions. Still, attention was drawn to the fact that the logical con­ clusion of the setting of limit values would be to earmark resources for intervention in the event of limit values being exceeded. The number of times limit values are exceeded increase every time limit values are lowered, and the level therefore has to be adjusted to the resources avail­ able for intervention. The public confidence in authorities is, however, at stake if such an approach is adopted, and researchers should consider it their business to convince authorities and politicians that the resources they have found necessary are actually used optimally. Another aspect of the credibility involved in the setting of limit values, i.e. that professional honesty underpins the application of criteria for limit values, was highlighted by some of the delegates. To this end the applica­ tion of data must be well-documented and the quality of data high. By meeting these requirements researchers prove their credibility. To exemp ­ lify this, dilution is not an acceptable solution when limit values for sludge are debated, and impact and extrapolation assessments must not be targeted towards or adapted to specific circumstances as this will water 8 Chairmen’s Conclusions down the very purpose of limit values.

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