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(072) Project IDRIS II - The development of expert system for ecological risk assessment. Holoubek, I.1, Dusek, L.1, Andel, P.1, Cupr, P.1, Holoubkova, I.1, Blaha, L.1, Hofman, J.1, Machala, M.1, Kohoutek, J.1, Blaha, K.1, 1 ABSTRACT- Ecological risk assessment (EcoRA) has matured into a powerful analytical tool, which is finding ever-wider applications in the arena of policy making and regulation for environmental protection. The principal focus of its development to date has been on the technical challenges of characterizing and modeling the environmental behavior and biological action of chemicals, whereas issues concerning its broader socio-political context have been generally neglected. EcoRA is an iterative process that can involve proceeding through several levels of assessment prior to obtaining results with acceptable uncertainty. The first - the screening-level assessment - is typically conservative and is often conducted at the beginning of the process when data are limited, or when resources are constrained. This assessment level serves to narrow the scope of the assessment to the main issues of concern. The strategy for subsequent assessment levels - from intermediate-detail to considerable-detail levels - is dependent on a number of factors that are affected by site-specific conditions and are difficult to prejudge. Consequently, while normal prescriptive guidance may be useful for screening-level EcoRA, it would probably be constraining for detailed EcoRA and reduce the effectiveness of the risk assessment process. Differences between screening-level and detailed-level EcoRAs include: the type of information needed, the level of resources and information used, the range of receptors and stressors included, the level of effects estimated, the use (or not) of multiple lines of evidence, conservatism and uncertainty, and point versus probabilistic estimates of exposure and effects. Based on these approaches and the results of our former project IDRIS I (Identification of ecological risks) covered by the Ministry of the Environment, Czech Republic, the expert system for EcoRA is developing and the main goals and basic approaches will be presented. Key words: ecological risk assessment, expert system |
