Hi all

FYI - ERICA has recently been endorsed by the HPA in the Journal of
Radiological & Env. Protection for use at proposed or existing nuclear
facilities. 

Ruth


Ruth Willcox
Environmental Protection Officer (Land Quality)
Plymouth City Council
Public Protection - Floor 6 
Civic Centre
City Centre
PLYMOUTH
Devon
PL1 2AA
Tel: 01752 304154
Fax: 01752 226314
Email: [log in to unmask]
 

-----Original Message-----
From: Contaminated Land Management Discussion List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Dr
Paul Bardos
Sent: Thursday, November 11, 2010 5:10 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: EU Project claims to have developed a new index that describes
overall toxicological risk of a site

Hi everyone

See following about the EU project: RISKCYCLE

I'm a bit sceptical, but circulate it for your general info

BW

paul



New index describes overall toxicological risk of a site A new index
that condenses the overall environmental impact of pollutants at a
particular site into a single value has been developed. 
This unique number captures the health status of the territory in terms
of the risk of the pollutants to animals and plants in ecosystems, human
health and the long-term fate of the pollutants in the environment.

An environmental index is used to summarise complex environmental
information in a single value. In the case of assessing the potential
risk of toxic chemicals at a particular site, it is important to capture
the local impact of the pollutants on human health and all parts of the
environment, including water, soil, sediment and the air.

Researchers, partly funded by the EU RISKCYCLE project1, have developed
the Ecotoxicological Risk Index for a Chemical Assessment (ERICA). A
database, holding physical and chemical properties and toxicity data
derived from experiments or predictive models, was compiled for 186
potentially harmful chemicals.

It is recommended that a minimum of 19 priority toxic substances (likely
to be found in water, soil, sediment and the air) are included when each
ERICA value is compiled. The 19 chemicals include toxic metals,
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides, particulate matter
(PM2.5 and PM10), nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and ozone, amongst
others. Other specific pollutants, identified during initial sampling
and analysis of the site under investigation, should also be included.

In compiling ERICA, the physico-chemical properties of each pollutant
are combined with the toxicity of the pollutants to human health and to
plants and animals in ecosystems. The risk to human health is assessed
in terms of both toxic (but not cancer-causing) and cancer-causing
impacts. In addition, the longer-term transport and fate of the
pollutants are incorporated to arrive at a single number which describes
the environmental quality of a specific area, including possible future
risk posed by the pollutants. The index can be used by policy makers and
managers in risk assessment strategies and monitoring of sites,
particularly potentially hazardous areas such as landfills.

The environmental quality or health status of a territory is described
by one of eight categories, ranging from 'very good' (an ERICA value of
less than 25) to 'extremely dangerous' (an ERICA value greater than or
equal to 400). Descriptions of these categories include, for example,
'very good', where 'the environmental health quality is satisfactory and
pollution poses no risk for human and ecological receptors' to
'dangerous' (ERICA 300-399), where human health and organisms in
ecosystems 'are in danger with substantial risks'.

The researchers highlight the benefits of ERICA, including the use of a
concise and transparent method, based on clear criteria, to arrive at
the index; the ability to present an overall picture of the health of a
territory; the use of the index to monitor the long-term health of a
site; and the ability to be used in cases where there is little data -
ERICA can use models to predict potential impacts of pollutants.

Future developments include extending ERICA to cover the impacts of
interactions between mixtures of chemicals on people, other organisms
and the environment.

1.The RISKCYCLE Project (Risk-based management of chemicals and products
in a circular economy at a global scale) was supported by the European
Commission under the Seventh Framework Programme
www.wadef.com/projects/riskcycle
Source: Boriani, E., Mariani, A., Baderna, D., et al. (2010) ERICA: A
multiparametric toxicological risk index for the assessment of
environmental healthiness. Environment International. 36: 665-674.

Contact: [log in to unmask]
Theme(s): Chemicals, Risk assessment
-- 


Professor Paul Bardos
r3 Environmental Technology Ltd
Dept. Soil Science
Whiteknights,
PO Box 233
Reading
RG6 6DW

www.r3environmental.co.uk
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Tel +44 (0)118 378 8164     Fax: +44 (0) 870 1640 633
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