Assessment criteria for contaminants in biota


Metals

Two assessment criteria are used to assess the status of metal concentrations: the

  • Background Assessment Concentration (BAC)
  • European Commission food standard (EC)

BACs were developed within the Oslo and Paris Commission framework with scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Mean concentrations significantly below the BAC are said to be near background.

ECs are used in the absence of any satisfactory criteria for assessing the ecological significance of metal concentrations. ECs are the maximum acceptable concentrations in food for the protection of public health.

BACs and ECs are available for the following metals


BAC EC
mussels oysters   fish   fish and bivalves crustaceans
Cadmium   960 3000 26 1000 500
Copper 6000 6000
Mercury     90   180 35   500 500
Lead 1300 1300 26 1500 500
Zinc 63000   63000  


Notes:

  • BAC units are \(\mu\)g kg\(^{-1}\) dw for mussels and oysters and \(\mu\)g kg\(^{-1}\) ww for fish
  • EC units are \(\mu\)g kg\(^{-1}\) ww
  • cadmium and liver are usually monitored in fish liver for which no food standard exists; concentrations in fish liver are naturally higher than in fish muscle, so the food standards for fish muscle are not used; instead the food standards for shellfish are used as a proxy
  • BACs and EACs are converted to other bases (wet, dry or lipid weight) using species-specific conversion factors


PAHs

Two assessment criteria are used to assess the status of PAH concentrations: the

  • Background Assessment Concentration (BAC)
  • Environmental Assessment Criteria (EAC)

The assessment criteria were developed within the Oslo and Paris Commission framework with scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Mean concentrations significantly below the BAC are said to be near background. Concentrations below the EAC should not cause any chronic effects on marine organisms.

BACs and EACs are available for the following PAHs


BAC EAC
mussels and oysters shellfish
Naphthalene  340
Phenanthrene 11.0  1700 
Anthracene  290
Fluoranthene 12.2   110
Pyrene  9.0  100
Benz[a]anthracene  2.5    80
Chrysene (Triphenylene)  8.1
Benzo[a]pyrene  1.4  600
Benzo[ghi]perylene  2.5  110
Indeno[123-cd]pyrene  2.4


Notes:

  • units are \(\mu\)g kg\(^{-1}\) dw
  • BACs and EACs are converted to other bases (wet, dry or lipid weight) using species-specific conversion factors
  • PAHs are not routinely monitored in fish, so no BACs and EACs for fish have been derived


Chlorobiphenyls

Two assessment criteria are used to assess the status of chlorobiphenyl concentrations: the

  • Background Assessment Concentration (BAC)
  • Environmental Assessment Criteria (EAC)

The assessment criteria were developed within the Oslo and Paris Commission framework with scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Mean concentrations significantly below the BAC are said to be near background. Concentrations below the EAC should not cause any chronic effects on marine organisms.

BACs and EACs are available for the following chlorobiphenyls


BAC EAC
mussels and oysters fish all species
CB28 0.75 0.10   67
CB52 0.75 0.08 108
CB101 0.70 0.08 121
CB105 0.75 0.08
CB118 0.60 0.10   25
CB138 0.60 0.09 317
CB153 0.60 0.10 1585  
CB156 0.60 0.08
CB180 0.60 0.11 469


Notes:

  • BAC units are \(\mu\)g kg\(^{-1}\) dw for mussels and oysters and \(\mu\)g kg\(^{-1}\) ww for fish
  • EAC units are \(\mu\)g kg\(^{-1}\) lw
  • BACs and EACs are converted to other bases (wet, dry or lipid weight) using species-specific conversion factors
  • the EACs are based on partitioning theory and are sometimes known as EAC\(^{\text{passive}}\)