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2017
Journal Article
Titel
Towards the review of the European Union Water Framework Directive: Recommendations for more efficient assessment and management of chemical contamination in European surface water resources
Abstract
Water is a vital resource for natural ecosystems and human life, and assuring a high quality of water and protecting it from chemical contamination is a major societal goal in the European Union. The Water Framework Directive (WFD) and its daughter directives are the major body of legislation for the protection and sustainable use of European freshwater resources. The practical implementation of the WFD with regard to chemical pollution has faced some challenges. In support of the upcomingWFD review in 2019 the research project SOLUTIONS and the European monitoring network NORMAN has analyzed these challenges, evaluated the state-of-the-art of the science and suggested possible solutions. We give 10 recommendations to improve monitoring and to strengthen comprehensive prioritization, to foster consistent assessment and to support solution-oriented management of surface waters. The integration of effect-based tools, the application of passive sampling for bioaccumulative chemicals and an integrated strategy for prioritization of contaminants, accounting for knowledge gaps, are seen as important approaches to advance monitoring. Including all relevant chemical contaminants in more holistic "chemical status" assessment, using effect-based trigger values to address prioritymixtures of chemicals, to better consider historical burdens accumulated in sediments and to use models to fill data gaps are recommended for a consistent assessment of contamination. Solution-oriented management should apply a tiered approach in investigative monitoring to identify toxicity drivers, strengthen consistent legislative frameworks and apply solutions-oriented approaches that explore risk reduction scenarios before and along with risk assessment.
Author(s)
Dulio, Valeria
Institut National de l'Environnement Industriel et des Risques INERIS - Verneuil-en-Halatte - France
Ågerstrand, Marlene
ACES - Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry, Stockholm University - Stockholm - Sweden
Burgess, Robert M.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ORD, NHEERL, Atlantic Ecology Division, Narrangansett, RI, USA
Cousins, Ian
ACES - Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry, Stockholm University - Stockholm - Sweden
Hewitt, L. Mark
Aquatic Ecosystem Protection Research Division, Environment Canada, Burlington - Ontario - Canada
Hilscherová, Klára
Masaryk University - Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment - RECETOX - Brno - Czech Republic
Hollender, Juliane
EAWAG, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland
Hollert, Henner
Department of Ecosystem Analysis, Institute for Environmental Research - RWTH - Aachen
Lindim, Claudia
ACES - Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry, Stockholm University - Stockholm - Sweden
Posthuma, Leo
National Institute for Public Health and the Environment - RIVM - Bilthoven - The Netherlands
Smedes, Foppe
Masaryk University - Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment - RECETOX - Brno - Czech Republic
Brink, Paul J. van den
Alterra, Wageningen University and Research Centre - Wageningen - The Netherlands
Vermeirssen, Etienne
EAWAG, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland