Risk assessment and prioritization of pollutants in continental Mediterranean waters based on hazard quotients Authors Maja Kuzmanovic Water and Soil Quality Research Group, Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA-CSIC, Barcelona, Catalonia. Antoni Ginebreda Water and Soil Quality Research Group, Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA-CSIC, Barcelona, Catalonia. Damià Barceló Water and Soil Quality Research Group, Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA-CSIC, Barcelona, Catalonia. Keywords: pollutants, risk assessment, ecotoxicity, Mediterranean river basins, hazard index, prioritization of pollutants Abstract The input of chemical pollutants into the aquatic environment is growing but their potential adverse effects on the ecosystem still remain largely unknown. Therefore the development of appropriate risk assessment procedures capable to provide a prioritization of potential pollutants becomes a must. Here we identify priority compounds specific to Mediterranean rivers and compare them to those found in other rivers worldwide. To this purpose hazard quotients (HQ) defined as the ratio of measured environmental concentration (MEC) to predicted non effect concentration (PNEC) referred to different trophic levels were calculated for different compounds selected from different existing prioritization schemes, as well as 15 priority substances identified under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and compared for cases of Mediterranean vs. North European and USA rivers. [Contrib Sci 10:125-134 (2014)] Downloads PDF Issue Vol. 10 No. 2 (2014) Section Article License This work is subject, unless the contrary is indicated in the text, the photographs or in other illustrations, to an Attribution —Non-Commercial— No Derivative Works 3.0 Creative Commons License, the full text of which can be consulted at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/. You are free to share, copy, distribute and transmit the work provided that the author is credited and reuse of the material is restricted to non-commercial purposes only and that no derivative works are created from the original material.
