Cefic-lri Programme | European Chemical Industry Council

ECO54: Developing a tiered modeling framework in support of risk assessment of chemical substances associated with mobility concerns

Principal Investigator

Dr. Li Li
University of Nevada, Reno
1664 N. Virginia Street
Reno,  Nevada, 89557-0325, United States
lili@unr.edu
Tel: +1 (775) 784-4040

Collaborators

Dr. Jon A. Arnot; Dr. Trevor Brown; Dr. Alessandro Sangion, ARC Arnot Research and Consulting, Inc. (ARC), Canada, jon@arnotresearch.com

Dr. Denis Sarigiannis; Dr. Spyros Karakitsios, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), Greece, denis@eng.auth.gr

 

Description

Persistent, mobile, and toxic (PMT) chemicals, including but not limited to plant protection products, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products, are perceived as an emerging threat to aquatic environments and drinking water quality [1]. Due to their high polarity and water solubility, these compounds can be efficiently transported from sources of release to groundwater or remote ecosystems, and many of these chemicals may also have relatively low removal efficiencies during water treatment. Therefore, it is essential to screen and identify potential PMT chemicals and quantify their environmental fate, exposures, and potential ecological and human health risks to ensure safe and sustainable chemical use.

The Overall Objective of this research is to develop a tiered modeling framework in support of risk assessment of chemical substances associated with M concerns. We will pursue the following Specific Aims: (I) Develop and evaluate databases and predictive models for improving the assessment of P and M; (II) Refine and improve our lower- and higher-tiered fate and exposure models (RAIDAR, PROTEX, and INTEGRA) to address uncertainty in estimates of human exposure to chemical substances associated with M concerns through drinking water; (III) Create a comprehensive assessment framework that integrates modeling and monitoring to evaluate the time-variant exposure to chemical substances associated with M concerns; and (IV) Explore conditions (e.g., use patterns and substance properties) for screening the occurrence of chemical substances in drinking water, which can be used for safety data communication. By developing QSARs and state-of-the-art fate and exposure models for ecological and human health risks, our project will address uncertainty and data gaps in assessing water-soluble chemicals for P and M, put M assessment into an exposure- and risk-based context, and improve the specificity of the proposed PMT criteria in proactively identifying chemicals of concern.

Timeline: April 2021 > March 2023

LRI funding: $ 355 872

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