technical guidance documents - Institute for Health and Consumer ...
technical guidance documents - Institute for Health and Consumer ...
technical guidance documents - Institute for Health and Consumer ...
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MARINE RISK ASSESSMENT<br />
In addition to the inl<strong>and</strong> sources of emission, there may also be direct discharges to the marine<br />
environment. Thus, releases can occur from point sources:<br />
• to estuaries, either by direct discharges or from inl<strong>and</strong> sources via riverine inputs (or both);<br />
• to coastal areas;<br />
• to harbour areas from port activity <strong>and</strong> shipping;<br />
• to open sea e.g. from offshore oil <strong>and</strong> gas installations <strong>and</strong> from ships;<br />
• atmospheric deposition.<br />
4.2.4.2 Calculation of PEClocal <strong>for</strong> the aquatic compartment<br />
In the current procedure of inl<strong>and</strong> environmental risk assessment, the use of marine exposure<br />
scenarios had become necessary whenever site-specific assessments were per<strong>for</strong>med <strong>for</strong> a large<br />
number of industrial sites, of which some actually discharge directly to the sea. A risk<br />
assessment <strong>for</strong> the marine environment on a local scale was there<strong>for</strong>e only per<strong>for</strong>med <strong>for</strong> specific<br />
sites identified as releasing directly into the sea. In the context of a dedicated methodology <strong>for</strong><br />
marine risk assessment, a more generic exposure assessment <strong>for</strong> any given use is necessary.<br />
While in some countries with long coastlines, the number of industrial sites discharging<br />
wastewater to the sea is low compared with the overall number of sites (e.g. 5 – 10% in France;<br />
IFEN, 1997), it can be very high in others (e.g. 58 % in Sweden; SCB, 2000). It is there<strong>for</strong>e<br />
assumed that <strong>for</strong> all uses of a given chemical substance, potential local releases to the marine<br />
environment can occur <strong>and</strong>, hence, it is necessary to per<strong>for</strong>m a generic local exposure assessment<br />
<strong>for</strong> the local marine environment.<br />
As <strong>for</strong> inl<strong>and</strong> risk assessment, the calculation of the PEClocal depends mainly on two<br />
parameters: dilution <strong>and</strong> the presence (or absence) of a STP. Both of these parameters have large<br />
influences on the local concentration (Clocalseawater).<br />
Regarding the presence or absence of a STP, conflicting in<strong>for</strong>mation is available. Experience<br />
with the risk assessment of existing substances has shown that <strong>for</strong> chemical processing sites<br />
located on the coast, the probability that the effluents are treated in a biological treatment plant is<br />
much lower than <strong>for</strong> sites situated in l<strong>and</strong> (see e.g., risk assessment reports <strong>for</strong> acrylonitrile,<br />
cyclohexane or methylene dianiline). This is confirmed by a survey per<strong>for</strong>med by HELCOM<br />
(1998). While most industrial effluents from sites located on the Baltic Sea coast were treated<br />
(up to 98 %), the report did not contain detailed in<strong>for</strong>mation on the treatment used from all<br />
contracting parties of HELCOM. However, from the data compiled in Sweden it appears that<br />
less than 50% of the industrial wastewater discharged passes a biological treatment step. On the<br />
other h<strong>and</strong>, statistics regarding treatment of municipal wastewater show that the treatment rate of<br />
municipal wastewater from coastal municipalities is not different from overall treatment rates<br />
(e.g. IFEN, 1997; HELCOM, 1998). On the other h<strong>and</strong>, four EU Member States have applied<br />
Article 6 of Directive 91/271 allowing them to declare marine areas non sensitive to urban<br />
wastewater meaning that they don’t have to treat the wastewater biologically but only<br />
mechanically.<br />
It is there<strong>for</strong>e proposed, <strong>for</strong> a default assessment, that in a local setting, industrial effluents<br />
(which may have been subject to some treatment on-site) are not treated in a municipal<br />
biological STP. It is recognised though that the situation regarding the treatment of industrial<br />
effluents is evolving rapidly <strong>and</strong> the present scenario could be revised in the near future. When<br />
there is specific in<strong>for</strong>mation available <strong>for</strong> a certain site that specific treatment facilities are<br />
available this in<strong>for</strong>mation needs to be assessed <strong>and</strong> can be used to override the default<br />
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