A Novel Approach to Derive the Predicted No-Effect Concentration (PNEC) of Benzophenone-3 (BP-3) Using the Species Sensitivity Distribution (SSD) Method: Suggestion of a New PNEC Value for BP-3

Jae-Woong Jung, Jae Soon Kang, Jinsoo Choi and June-Woo Park
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Jae-Woong Jung: Center for Defense Acquisition and Requirements Analysis, Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, Seoul 02455, Korea
Jae Soon Kang: Department of Anatomy and Convergence Medical Science, Institute of Health Science, Bio Anti-Aging Medical Research Center, Gyeongsang National University Medical School, Jinju 52727, Korea
Jinsoo Choi: Department of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Korea Institute of Toxicology, Jinju 52834, Korea
June-Woo Park: Department of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Korea Institute of Toxicology, Jinju 52834, Korea

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 7, 1-11

Abstract: The necessity for the aquatic ecological risk assessment for benzophenone-3 (BP-3) is increasing due to its high toxic potential and high detection frequency in freshwater. The initial step in the ecological risk assessment is to determine predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC). This study derived PNEC of BP-3 in freshwater using a species sensitivity distribution (SSD) approach, whilst existing PNECs are derived using assessment factor (AF) approaches. A total of eight chronic toxicity values, obtained by toxicity testing and a literature survey, covering four taxonomic classes (fish, crustaceans, algae, and cyanobacteria) were used for PNEC derivation. Therefore, the quantity and quality of the toxicity data met the minimum requirements for PNEC derivation using an SSD approach. The PNEC derived in this study (73.3 ?g/L) was far higher than the environmental concentration detected in freshwater (up to 10.4 ?g/L) as well as existing PNECs (0.67~1.8 ?g/L), mainly due to the difference in the PNEC derivation methodology (i.e., AF vs. SSD approach). Since the SSD approach is regarded as more reliable than the AF approach, we recommend applying the PNEC value derived in this study for the aquatic ecological risk assessment of BP-3, as the use of the existing PNEC values seems to unnecessarily overestimate the potential ecological risk of BP-3 in freshwater.

Keywords: benzophenone-3; species sensitivity distribution; chronic toxicity; risk assessment; freshwater (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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