Taking Action Based on the Survey

Based on their study, Reed et al. (40) suggested the development of a "light-burden" survey for photosensitive products. The purpose of this survey would be to allow developers to identify the source of any problem and take the appropriate action. 

A similar application of ecotoxicological data is hazard assessment. Unlike risk assessment, hazard assessment is nonprobabilistic and relies upon indices rather than probabilities. One such index is the hazard quotient , which is the ratio of the expected environmental concentration (based upon field surveys or simulation models) divided by a benchmark concentration. The benchmark concentration is derived from some measure of toxicity such as the LC50 or no-observed-effect level. Hazard assessments are often conducted at different levels or tiers of increasing complexity and specificity if a chemical is identified as potentially hazardous by tier (the least complex and specific test), a decision is made to take action or, if more information is needed, to proceed to tier 2 tests. After tier 2 tests, a decision is made whether to take action or proceed to tier 3 tests, and so on. This process is repeated until it is decided that there is enough information to determine whether or not there is significant ecological hazard. If there is, then regulatory action is taken. 

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