Environmental risk limits of metazachlor in water : A proposal for water quality standards in accordance with the Water Framework Directive
Series/Report no.
RIVM report 601714024Type
OnderzoeksrapportLanguage
enMetadata
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Environmental risk limits of metazachlor in water : A proposal for water quality standards in accordance with the Water Framework DirectiveTranslated Title
Milieurisicogrenzen voor metazachloor in water : Een voorstel voor waterkwaliteitsnormen volgens de Kaderrichtlijn WaterPubliekssamenvatting
Het RIVM heeft in opdracht van het ministerie van Infrastructuur en Milieu (I&M) de milieurisicogrenzen voor metazachloor in water aangepast. Metazachloor is een onkruidbestrijdingsmiddel. De stof is opgenomen in de Regeling Monitoring Kaderrichtlijn Water (KRW), waarin staat aan welke eisen oppervlaktewater in Nederland moet voldoen. Nieuwe waterkwaliteitsnormen zijn nodig omdat de huidige norm voor metazachloor niet is afgeleid volgens de meest recente methodiek. Het ministerie stelt deze nieuwe normen vast op basis van de wetenschappelijke advieswaarden van het RIVM.Twee waterkwaliteitsnormen
De Kaderrichtlijn Water hanteert twee typen waterkwaliteitsnormen: de Jaargemiddelde Milieukwaliteitsnorm (JG-MKN) en de Maximaal Aanvaardbare Concentratie (MAC-MKN). De JG-MKN is de concentratie in water waarbij geen schadelijke effecten te verwachten zijn nadat waterorganismen en mensen er langdurig aan zijn blootgesteld. De MAC-MKN is de norm die het ecosysteem beschermt tegen kortdurende concentratiepieken. Het gemiddelde van de gemeten concentraties over een jaar moet lager zijn dan de JG-MKN. Individuele meetwaarden kunnen hoger zijn dan het jaargemiddelde, maar de hoogst gemeten concentratie mag niet boven de MAC-MKN uitkomen.
Voor de JG-MKN zijn twee 'routes' onderzocht: directe effecten op waterorganismen en indirecte effecten op mensen via het eten van vis. Dit levert twee veilige concentraties op; de laagste bepaalt de voorgestelde JG-MKN (0,08 microgram per liter). Het voorstel voor de MAC-MKN is 0,48 microgram per liter. Op basis van meetgegevens over de afgelopen jaren wordt verwacht dat de voorgestelde normen op een aantal locaties worden overschreden. Als dit inderdaad zo blijkt te zijn, zal dit worden meegewogen bij de toekomstige beoordeling van deze stof als gewasbeschermingsmiddel.
RIVM has revised the environmental risk limits (ERLs) for metazachlor in water by order of the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment. Metazachlor is used as a herbicide. The compound is included in the Dutch decree on water quality objectives in the context of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). The current standard for metazachlor has to be updated according to the new WFDmethodology. The ERLs in this report are advisory values that serve as a scientific background for the ministry, which is responsible for setting those standards.
Two types of quality standards
There are two types of water quality standards under the WFD: the Annual Average Environmental Quality Standard (AA-EQS) and the Maximum Acceptable Concentration EQS (MAC-EQS). The AA-EQS is the concentration in water at which no harmful effects are to be expected for ecosystem and human health after long-term exposure. The MAC-EQS protects the ecosystem against short-term concentration peaks. The average measured concentration over a year should not exceed the AA-EQS. Individual monitoring data may be higher than the annual average, but concentrations should not exceed the MAC-EQS. In the Dutch derivation procedure, the risk limits corresponding to AA- and MACEQS are denoted as Maximum Permissible Concentration (MPC) and Maximum Acceptable Concentration (MACeco), respectively.
Two routes were considered for derivation of the MPC: direct ecotoxicity and consumption of fish by humans. Direct ecotoxicity is the most critical of these two routes and determines the proposed MPC (0.08 microgram per litre). The proposed MAC is 0.48 microgram per litre. Monitoring data from recent years indicate that these levels will probably be exceeded at several locations. If this is indeed the case, this will be taken into account in the future authorisation procedure for the use of this compound as plant protection product.
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