title: Uncertainty in msPAF-based ecotoxicological effect factors for freshwater ecosystems in life cycle impact assessment.
abstract: Ecotoxicological effect factors are part of the analysis of relative impacts by chemical contaminants on ecosystems. Uncertainty distributions, represented by the 90% confidence interval, belonging to ecotoxicological effect factors for freshwater ecosystems were determined. This study includes 869 high production volume chemicals, related to 7 nonspecific toxic modes of action (TMoAs). The ecotoxicological effect factors are divided into a TMoA-specific part and a chemical-specific part. The 90% confidence interval of the TMoA-specific part of the effect factor ranges from 23 orders of magnitude for acrylate toxicity to 2 orders of magnitude for nonpolar narcosis. The range in the TMoA-specific part of the effect factor is mainly caused by uncertainty in the spread in toxic sensitivity between species (sigma(j)). Average uncertainty in the chemical-specific part of the effect factors depends on the number of species tested and ranges on average from a factor of 5 for more than 3 species tested to a factor of about 1,000 for 2 species tested. Average uncertainty in the ecotoxicological effect factors ranges from a factor of 100 for more than 3 species tested to a factor of nearly 10,000 for 2 species tested. It is recommended that the ecotoxicological effect factor of a chemical is based on toxicity data of at least 4 species.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, PO Box 9010, 6500 GL, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. r.vanzelm@science.ru.nl
authors.forename: Rosalie
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: van Zelm
authors.forename: Mark A J
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Huijbregts
authors.forename: Jasper V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Harbers
authors.forename: Arjen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wintersen
authors.forename: Jaap
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Struijs
authors.forename: Leo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Posthuma
authors.forename: Dik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: van de Meent
mesh_terms: D000179:Acrylates / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D000818:Animals; D016208:Databases, Factual; D004463:Ecology; D017753:Ecosystem; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000032:analysis*; D008018:Life Cycle Stages / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013045:Species Specificity; D053608:Stupor / Q000453:epidemiology; D035501:Uncertainty; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D000179:Acrylates; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical