Risk assessment

1. Beltox Seminar, Part 6.2 Risk assessment Francesca Tencalla

2. How to Characterize Risk? (1) Risk = f(hazard, exposure)

3. How do you Characterize Risk? (2) Risk Environmental exposure Exposure indicative of toxicity Compare to a threshold value(2, 5, 10, 100…) Conclude (Risk acceptable, acceptable with mitigation, unacceptable) Further testing (NB: Different for GM crops: comparative approach)

4. What is ecotoxicology? Definition Main objectives Similarities and differences with human toxicology How did it develop as a discipline? Environmental risk assessment Basic principles Problem formulation Hazard assessment Exposure assessment Characterising risk Outline • Example of environmentalriskassessment

5. Exemple: chemical substance «REACH » Regulation Registration, Evaluation, and authorisation of chemicals (Regulation 1907/2006)

6. Test substance Algae Daphnia Fish LC50 = 35 mg/L EC50 = 12 mg/L EC50 = 26 mg/L 1. Hazard assessment(1)

7. 1. Hazard assessment (2) Divide by a factor (f.ex. 10) to extrapolate to the environment Algae Establish a concentration below which no environmental effects are expected (‘PNEC’) EC50 = 12 mg/L

8. Wastewater treatment plant 2. Exposure assessment PEC water

9. 3. Risk assessment Risk = f(hazard, exposure) PEC water = PNEC

10. PEC water PEC water PNEC PNEC Risk not acceptable or acceptable with conditons Risk acceptable 3. Risk assessment

11. THANK YOU!