SCOPE 53 - Methods to Assess the Effects of Chemicals On Ecosystems

Preface

The Scientific Group on Methodologies for the Safety Evaluation of Chemicals (SGOMSEC) was established in 1979 at the initiative of Professor Norton Nelson from New York University. SGOMSEC is a non-governmental organization sponsored by IPCS (the International Programme on Chemical Safety, established within WHO with the cooperation of UNEP and ILO), and the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE), itself a body of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU).

The broad objective of SGOMSEC is to contribute to the reduction and prevention of risks caused to humans and non-human targets (ecosystems) by the introduction in the environment in increasing quantities of many natural and man-made chemicals. The specific contribution of SGOMSEC is to assess the methodologies in use for the evaluation of these hazards and risks with a view to determine their values, to identify gaps and emerging needs, and to make recommendations for future research. Previous SGOMSEC projects have dealt either with general problems of chemical exposure and effects or with specific issues such as the non-intentional effects of pesticides or the consequences of large chemical accidents.

Volume 10 of SGOMSEC is concerned with a subject basic to ecological risk assessment: the estimation of injurious effects of chemical and physical agents on large and complex ecosystems and their component populations of micro-organisms, plants, and animals. This report evaluates current knowledge of ecotoxicology. This evaluation is presented in 15 contributed papers and a joint report prepared at a workshop held at the Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CNRS) located at Montpellier, France, on 7-12 March 1993. The joint report includes general recommendations aimed at improving research in this field and developing methodologies for ecotoxicology testing, taking account of the potentials and limitations of available models and approaches.

The project was co-chaired by Professors Rick Linthurst of the US Environmental Protection Agency and Marie-Madeleine Coûteaux of the Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive. They and the authors of the contributed papers, all experts in their respective fields, are thanked for their participation. We are also most grateful to Robert G. Tardiff (EA Engineering, Science, and Technology, Inc., Silver Spring, Maryland) for his part in editing the report. Special thanks are due to Dr. F. Warembourg, Director of the Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, for hosting the workshop at the Centre.

SGOMSEC gratefully acknowledges the support and financial assistance of IPCS, SCOPE, NIEHS, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the Commission of the European Communities, without which this project would not have been possible.