Updating the Chronic Freshwater Ecotoxicity Database and Biotic Ligand Model for Nickel for Regulatory Applications in Europe

Bioavailability has been taken into account in the regulation of nickel in freshwater ecosystems in Europe for over a decade; during that time a significant amount of new information has become available covering both the sensitivity of aquatic organisms to nickel toxicity and bioavailability normalization. The ecotoxicity database for chronic nickel toxicity to freshwater organisms has been updated and now includes 358 individual data points covering a total of 53 different species, all of which are suitable for bioavailability normalization to different water chemistry conditions. The bioavailability normalization procedure has also been updated to include updates to the bioavailability models that enable more sensitive water chemistry conditions to be covered by the model predictions. The updated database and bioavailability normalization procedure are applicable to more than 95% of regulated European surface water conditions and have been used to calculate site-specific criteria for a variety of different water chemistry scenarios, to provide an indication of how the sensitivity to nickel varies between different water types. The hazardous concentration for 5% of a species (HC5) values for this diverse selection of water types range from 1.6 to 36 mu g L-1, clearly demonstrating the importance of accounting for nickel bioavailability in freshwaters. This updated database and bioavailability normalization procedure provide a robust basis for the derivation of regulatory thresholds for chronic nickel toxicity in freshwaters such as predicted no-effect concentrations and Environmental Quality Standards and are protective of the results of several mesocosm studies. Environ Toxicol Chem 2023;00:1-15. (c) 2023 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

Automated summary

Bioavailability is an important factor to consider in the regulation of nickel in freshwater ecosystems. The ecotoxicity database for chronic nickel toxicity has been updated, and the bioavailability normalization procedure has been improved to cover a wider range of water chemistry conditions. The new database and procedure provide a basis for determining regulatory thresholds for chronic nickel toxicity in freshwaters.