This document summarizes an OECD workshop on managing contaminants of emerging concern in surface waters. It discusses the need for alternative and predictive testing strategies to assess more chemicals and mixtures in a rapid and cost-effective manner. Current water quality frameworks focus on a limited number of legacy chemicals but newer analytical methods are detecting many more contaminants. There is also insufficient consideration of complex mixture risks. The document calls for a more holistic and solutions-oriented approach based on modeling chemical emissions and exposures to better prospectively protect human and environmental health.

1. OECD Workshop on Managing CECs in Surface Waters:
Scientific developments and cost-effective policy responses
Bruno Tisserand, Veolia RI Water Program Director, EurEau President
Armelle Hebert, Veolia RI, Senior Expert in Environmental Health
Stéphanie Rinck-Pfeiffer, GWRC Managing Director 2018 Feb 5th
Predictive and alternative testing strategies of chemicals in water
To a paradigm shift in water quality and safety assessment framework

2. Chemical status  Chemical Contamination
45 PP WFD

104 detected pollutants
WFD: Among most innovative and comprehensive water legislation in the world
 But Chemical status (45 priority pollutants )  Chemical Contamination (104 detected pollutants in water samples)
 Only a tiny fraction of used chemicals considered and Strong emphasis on legacy chemicals
 Adverse effects largely unexplained and Insufficient consideration of mixture risks
EU strategy for a non-toxic Environment : Holistic and Solutions orientated approach
 Scenarios : Based on pollutants emissions, their current and future use
 Retrospective : Effect-based monitoring to identify priority complex mixtures
 Prospective : Europe-wide modelling of water concentrations, internal exposure and risks for thousands of chemicals
 Solutions : Tools, model knowledge base and decision support system /abatement options
Toxic contamination in water bodies (European scope)

3. [ ]
Context
&
Stakes
3
Topics
Chemical
Use &
Innovation
Today’s challenge :
Prospectively
protect human &
environmental
health
Context
&
Stakes
Develop
realistic - practical
solutions to ensure
chemical safety
assessment
Water
Professional
challenges
Improve standard
of living, but may
show adverse
effects
World Bank : 400M
tons of chemicals
Increasing
evidence of
potential
ecological & health
effect of complex
mixtures of low
doses
Implement
preventive
measures &
operational
procedures to
mitigate the risks
Analytics progress
Growing list of
metabolites,
by-products
Identify the
potential hazards?
Facing the challenge of Contaminants of Emerging Concern
monitoring in water bodies
Need for
harmonized
validated
frameworks

4. 4
USEPA
Chemical testing
Worldwide
Improvment
in Chemical
Safety Assessment
Alternative
testing strategies
Predictive & alternatives testing strategies of (environmental) chemicals
Supported by Institutional bodies at international level
Innovation applied to the water cycle quality assessment
Alternative testing strategies
• Rapid, Cost effective
• More relevant biosystems to humans
• Larger number of substances & mixtures
• Using fewer or no animals
Based on Adverse Outcome Pathways
USEPA 21st Century: Tox21
• Identify important biological pathways
disrupted by chemicals
• Getting it safe early saves costs later
• Shifting the burden upstream

5. 5
World MapFrom research to implementation on the water cycle
GWRC 2008 to 2017
Endocrine Toolbox
• Estrogenicity
• Beyond Estrogenicity (ER)
• ER, AR, TR, GR, PR, MR, RXR
Applied to WW, SW, DW
International projects
2011 to 2016
Biological tools for µpollutants
mixtures transformation-
products?
Applied to conventional &
Water REUSE schemes
Methodology
Demonstration projects
FP7 European projects
From 2012 to 2018

6. 6
Topics
EU Current
minimum
monitoring
WHO
Water Safety
Plan Risk
Based
Approach
Legal requirements
Substance based
3 EU Directives
- Water resources
- End Product (Tap)
HACCP applied to
effect-based
monitoring
Built chemical water
quality indicators
Paradigm shift for a more pro-active water (chemical) managment
Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points (HACCP)
• Enable a shift towards better understanding &
managment of process within a production supply chain
• Should be included in Water Directive revisions

7. Science to
Policy
Interface
8
Benefits of international Science to Policy Interface (SPI) to promote
a paradigm shift in water quality and safety assessment framework
Key Home Messages
• Alternative water environmental chemical testing strategies
• Shift the burden assessment upstream with WHO- HACCP
• Need for a harmonized & validated framework
• Assign suitable safe effect-based thresholds values for
conventional but also alternative water schemes
• Submit to international water agencies & institutions
• Contribute to the water challenge by targeting WHO Water
Effect-based guidelines
• Interact with OECD Work on water on CECs to support
environment & human health protection

8. S. Rinck-Pfeiffer1, B. Escher 3, P. Neale4,
A. Van Wezel 5, M. Meeker 6 , F.Leusch4, . A. Hebert1
1 Global Water Research Coalition, PO Box 1008, Stirling, Adelaide, Australia;
2 Veolia Recherche & Innovation, Département Envi & Santé, France,
3 Department Cell Toxicology– UFZ, Germany
4 Griffith School of Environment, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia,
5 KWR, Watercycle Research Institute, Nieuwegein, The Netherlands,
6 Water Environment & Reuse Foundation (WE&RF), Alexandria, VA, US.
Global Water Research Coalition
Project FP7 Solutions (2013-2018)
Funding EC (Grant Nr. 603437)
39 partners
Werner Brack, Rolf Altenburger, David López Herráez, John Munthe,
Leo Posthuma, Jaroslav Slobodnik, Jos van Gils, Annemarie van Wezel,
and more than 100 scientists from 39 institutions