title: Dioxin in the Elbe river basin: policy and science under the water framework directive 2000-2015 and toward 2021.
abstract: A critical review of the last 25 years of dioxin policy in the Elbe river catchment is presented along seven main theses of the River Basin Community (RBC)-Elbe background document "Pollutants" for the Management Plan 2016-2021. In this period, polychlorinated dibenzodioxins/-furans (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs) will play a major role: (i) as new priority substances for which environmental quality standards (EQSs) need to be derived (Directive 2013/39/EC); (ii) in the search for innovative solutions in sediment remediation (i.e., respecting the influence of mechanical processes; Flood Risk Directive 2007/60/EC); and (iii) as indicators at the land-sea interface (Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC). In the Elbe river catchment, aspects of policy and science are closely connected, which became particularly obvious in a classic example of dioxin hot spot contamination, the case of the Spittelwasser creek. Here, the "source-first principle" of the first cycle of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) had to be confirmed in a controversy on the dioxin hot spots with Saxony-Anhalt's Agency for Contaminated Sites (LAF). At the Spittelwasser site, the move from "inside the creek" to "along the river banks" goes parallel to a general paradigm shift in retrospective risk assessment frameworks and remediation techniques for organic chemicals (Ortega-Calvo et al. 2015). With respect to dioxin, large-scale stabilization applying activated carbon additions is particularly promising. Another important aspect is the assessment of the ecotoxicology of dioxins and dl- PCBs in context of sediment mobility and flood risk assessment, which has been studied in the project framework FloodSearch. Currently, the quality goals of the WFD to reach a "good chemical status" are not met in many catchment areas because substances such as mercury do and others probably will (PCDD/Fs and dl-PCB) exceed biota-EQS values catchment area-wide. So far, relating biota-EQS values to sediment-EQSs is not possible. To overcome these limitations, the DioRAMA project was initiated, which has led to improved approaches for the assessment of dioxin-contaminated sediment using in vitro bioassays and to a robust dataset on the interrelation between dioxins and dioxin-like compounds in sediments and biota.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Technology and Energy Economics, University of Technology Hamburg-Harburg, Eissendorfer Street, 21071 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Förstner
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecosystem Analysis, Institute for Environmental Research, ABBt - Aachen Biology and Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Henner
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hollert
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecosystem Analysis, Institute for Environmental Research, ABBt - Aachen Biology and Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brinkmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecosystem Analysis, Institute for Environmental Research, ABBt - Aachen Biology and Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Kathrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Eichbaum
authors.affiliation: POPs Environmental Consulting, Lindenfirststrasse 23, 73527 Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany.
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.affiliation: Kromme Elleboog 21, 9751 RB, Haren, Groningen Netherlands.
authors.forename: Wim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Salomons
keywords: Activated carbon; Biota-EQS; Bitterfeld region; Chemical status; Dredged materials; Flood risks; Marine strategy; NGOs; RBC Elbe; Sediment management concept