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The derivation and use of soil screening values for metals for the ecological risk assessment of contaminated land: a regulatory perspective

Author: Merrington G.   Fishwick S.   Brooke D.  

Publisher: EPP Publications

ISSN: 0967-0513

Source: Land Contamination & Reclamation, Vol.14, Iss.3, 2006-07, pp. : 673-684

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Abstract

Naturally occurring elements, which in some cases may be biologically essential but also potentially toxic, present significant problems to those charged with characterising and assessing ecological risk. The Environment Agency and Defra have developed a tiered ecological risk assessment framework for contaminated land, which has at Tier One, soil screening values for comparison with measured field concentrations. For the soil screening values for metals to be ecologically relevant and effectively reflect potential risk, they must balance essentiality with potential toxicity. In addition, they must consider variations in ambient background concentrations, the use of ecotoxicological data developed in the laboratory - not in the field, and the influence of soil physico-chemical properties on metal availability. Through the assessment of chemicals under the Existing Substances Regulations (Directive 98/8/EC) programme at a European level, in particular for Zn, and the Voluntary Risk Assessments for Cu and Pb, research tools and techniques have been developed to address the environmental relevance of total measured soil metal concentrations. The focus of this paper is upon the application and synthesis of the latest thinking from this metals research arena in a manner that attempts to meet both regulatory and stakeholder needs for soil screening values for ecological risk assessment.