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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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