The Environment Agencys Suggested Approach

The Environment Agency study reviewed ecological risk assessment frameworks from the USA, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands. In addition, it provided examples of guideline values (GVs) that are used in these countries. The outcome of the study is a suggested ecological risk assessment framework, based on a 

4 Environment Agency, Assessing Risks to Ecosystems from Land Contamination. Draft Report, National Centre for Ecotoxicology and Hazardous Substances, R D Technical Report P338, Bristol, 2000. 

The second tier of assessment involves further site characterisation and the direct toxicity testing of soil samples. In terms of the latter, the following ex situ tests are recommended for consideration, depending on the site-specific assessment needs  

In situ tests are also suggested for Tier 2, including  

There is also an option to perform biomonitoring, in the form of testing tissue samples for contaminants. As described previously, this can be used to confirm the existence of suspected pollutant linkages. 

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