GhEnToxLab and its partners have recently concluded the NEWSTHEPS project on “New Strategies for Marine Risk Assessment of Chemicals using Passive Samplers”, and the Final report is now publicly available. Our lab was involved in developing a new effect-based monitoring approach using passive samplers for risks assessment and an automated algorithm to calculate predicted no effect concentrations (PNECs), i.e. concentrations for individual chemicals protecting marine ecosystems.

The increasing number of chemicals detected in the marine environment underlines the need for appropriate prioritization strategies prior to further testing and potential inclusion into monitoring programs. Here, a prioritization strategy is proposed for chemicals detected in the North Sea over the last decade, through the development of a Concern Index (CI) using exposure and toxicity data obtained from peer-review publications and the ToxCast database, respectively. 

Organisms in the marine environment are being exposed to an increasing variety of chemicals. This research presents an effect-based monitoring method for the derivation of a margin of safety for environmentally realistic chemical mixtures. The method is based on a combination of passive sampling and ecotoxicity testing. Across eight marine samples, diatom growth inhibition was observed at REF ≥ 3.2 and margins of safety were found between REF 1.1–11.0. In addition, we found that reconstitution of extracts in HPLC-water was suitable to overcome the solvent-related challenges in biotesting that are usually associated with passive sampler extract spiking, whilst it still allowed REFs up to 44 in the biotest medium to be achieved.