POPs

Welcome from the RECETOX Centre
Scientific challenges connected with the
Stockholm Convention
Ivan Holoubek
RECETOX, Masaryk University, Brno, CR
holoubek@recetox.muni.cz; http://recetox.muni.cz
RECETOX WORKSHOP
Identifying the research needs in the global assessment of toxic compounds
ten years after the signature of the Stockholm Convention.
Brno, Czech Republic, 22-24/05/2011
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RECETOX research team
15 teachers and professors
20 Ph.D. researchers
50 Ph.D. students
10 senior researchers and postdocs
6 technical and administrative
http://recetox.muni.cz
stuff
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RECETOX POPs Research topics and areas of
experties
Fundamental research in the field of POPs
Global, regional trends – distribution, monitoring
New types of pollutants – anthropogenic, natural
Development of sampling and analytical methods
Measurements/monitoring vs. modelling
Environmental transformations
Mechanisms of harmful effects
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Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
POPs:
☺ The group of most fascinating
(Prof. K. C. Jones - scientific approach)
pollutants
Ghost of the past, devilish rest of human activities
(Terry Bidlemann - public feelling)
God creates 90 elements, man round 17, but Devil only one –
chlorine – Otto Hutzinger
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Persistent organic pollutants
Persistent
H
Cl
C
Cl
CCl3
Bioaccumulation
Toxicity
Long-range transport
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Scientific challenges
Results of the SETAC Workshop on Science-based
guidance for the Evaluation and identification of PBTs
and POPs
SETAC Pellston Workshop “Science-Based Guidance and Framework for the Evaluation and Identification of
PBTs and POPs”, Jan 27-Feb 1, 2008, Pensacola FL
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Conclusions and recommendations
• While the existing frameworks for evaluation of POPs/PBTs provide adequate flexibility
to introduce additional, new and emerging scientific evidence into the processes the
science has advanced significantly
• Specific guidance is in need of updating and clarification:
• Assessment of persistence with respect to overall Pov
• identification and assessment of degradation products and bound residues
• Use of trophic magnification factors and/or BMFs in both air and water breathing
organisms
• Greater use of in vitro test information and bioaccumulation models
• tiered approach is recommended for ecotoxicity to ensure that all of the same
endpoints are considered in each assessment,
• use of tissue body residues rather than media concentrations
• on the most appropriate environmental measurement approaches for new candidate
POPs, and on how to create a weight of evidence based on such data
• There is also a need to:
• Develop coupled models describing environmental fate, bioaccumulation and LRT
potential
• Consider of new partitioning mechanisms such as those observed for ionizable
chemicals
• recognize and communicate uncertainties associated with both quantitative and
qualitative elements of risk profiles for candidate POPs
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Tools of the SC
New chemicals evalution procedure – POPRC
Effectiveness evaluation – monitoring as a one from tools
Prevention of releases
Disposal and remediation
Other
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Properties of persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
Persistency:
Half time in water
> 2 months
Half time in soil
> 6 months
Half time in sediments > 6 months
Air - half time
> 2 days
Bioacumulation:
Biological concentration factor for water biotop > 5000
Log Kow
>5
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Key POPs words
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What we have ??
SC legal tool
Old POPs
New POPs
Potential POPs
Procedure for assessment (POPRC) – tool for new POPs
evaluation
Efectiveness evaluation and monitoring as one of the tools
BAT/BEP
Other Guidances – Dioxin Toolkit
Global networks, alliances…
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New POPs evaluation
Physical-chemical properties
Environmental-chemical properties
Fate - How well do we understand the fate of POPs ?
Transport, exchange processes, equilibria
Environmental distribution
Study of environmental processes - Laboratory experiments
- Field experiments – Monitoring - Modelling
Transformations, properties of degradation products
Exposure, accumulation
Effects
Risks
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Long-range transport elucidation
Evaluation tools
Estimation of meteorological, hydrological, oceanographic
conditions during the transport event (e.g, air mass back
trajectories)
Physico-chemical properties and characterisation
Compound pattern elucidation
Assessment of concentration levels including ratio evaluation
between different contaminant types
Transport and fate modeling
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Scientific topics
Source of POPs – emissions, real occurrence
Environmental fate
Physical-chemical properties – for models
Environmental-chemical properties
Transport
Exchanges, equilibria
Transformation
Degradation products and their properties
Accumulation, bioaccumulation, bioavailability
Toxicity of POPS and degradation products
Toxic interactions
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POPs in the environment – old, new, potential
What happens after ??? Effectiveness evaluation –
monitoring in selected compartments
Matrices, sampling tools, analysis, evaluation, visualisation,
interpretation
POPs, waste, contaminated sites
Fate and effects
Exposure
Toxic interactions
Effects of real mixtures
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Toxicity of degradation products
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Toxic interactions
Risk assessment of combined exposure to multiple chemicals: A WHO/IPCS
framework. M.E. (Bette) Meek, Alan R. Boobis, Kevin M. Crofton, Gerhard Heinemeyer,
Marcel Van Raaij, Carolyn Vickers
Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology xxx (2011) xxx–xxx
Prospective and Retrospective Environmental Risk Assessment of Mixtures
Moving from Research to Regulation
3rd SETAC Europe, Special Science Symposium, 2-3 February 2011, Hotel Marivaux,
Brussels, UNEP/POPS/POPRC.6/5
Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee
Sixth meeting, Geneva, 11–15 October 2010
Technical work: intersessional work on toxic interactions
Summary of intersessional work on toxic interactions
Case-study 2 - High volume POPs in environmental matrices on a long range scale
Ecotoxicological issues
Marco Vighi and Sara Villa
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Toxicity of environmental mixtures
Questions identified during past meetings
What additional information is needed to assist
the Committee with the issue of toxic
interactions in its deliberations?
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What specific information on persistent organic
pollutant interactions should be included in a
risk profile?
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What would be the possible implications of
interactive effects of persistent organic
pollutants for the application of the
precautionary approach described in Annex E?
What guidance on the preparation of a risk
profile should the Committee provide regarding
consideration of interactive effects?
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Answers suggested by the co-chairs
Understanding of toxicological and ecotoxicological effects of
less-explored new compounds such as brominated flame
retardants or perfluorinated compounds;
Understanding of effects of complex chemical mixtures;
Studies of vulnerable and keystone species such as arctic
gulls, polar bears or ringed seals;
Characterization of links between exposures and/or
biomarkers (e.g., immune parameters, hormone levels) with
the effects in populations;
Understanding of persistent organic pollutant effects in the
context of additional stressors and parameters (other
anthropogenic activities, parasite and micropathogen
infections, food scarcity, sensitive developmental stages,
climate change, etc.).
Information concerning additive or antagonistic and
synergistic effects;
Toxicological effects of environmental mixtures connected
with actual environmental levels;
Ecotoxicological effects of environmental mixtures of
chemicals;
If no or only limited information is available from field or
laboratory studies, potential additive or synergic effects could
be considered as interactive effects.
Risk assessment guidance on combined exposure to multiple
chemicals with the definition of relevant endpoints of
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multiple effects.