Analysis and derivation of the marine water quality criteria of phenol for Korean seas

Abstract

Marine water quality criteria (WQC) have to be determined prior to the derivation of water quality based effluent limitations (WQBELs) for hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) discharged from marine industrial facilities. In this study, we carried out toxicity tests using ten native marine organisms and analyzed international toxicity data and data tested in this study to derive the WQC of phenol for Korean seas. By converting acute values to chronic ones with ACRs (acute-chronic ratios) of each trophic level according to well-verified method, we derived provisional WQC (0.96 mg/L) of phenol for Korean seas for the first time. The procedure to derive marine WQC and results of this study could provide the essential information for the establishment of national marine WQC and WQBELs for HNS discharged from marine industrial facilities.