Novel approaches and technologies in pollution assessment and monitoring: A UK perspective

Abstract

For more than 50 years, the management of chemical pollution in the UK has relied on three major types of information. These are information about: (i) the potential toxicity of chemicals intentionally or unintentionally released into the environment; (ii) the concentration of particular chemicals in environmental samples; and (iii) the well-being of ecosystems or key species within ecosystems. Toxicity tests for lethal as well as sublethal effects are carried out in standard conditions, with a limited range of species. They provide data that are used, together with safety factors, to set “safe environmental limits” for specific chemicals. These limits are captured in regulations and enforced with the aid of monitoring programs. Sometimes, despite controlling contaminant levels in ecosystems, ecologists detect abnormalities or overt ecological damage. This may then lead to management actions to address each specific problem. In this paper, the limitations of the “chemical-based” approaches outlined above are highlighted. A range of contemporary methods that have been developed over the last 10–20 years and that are based on the identification of biological damage are also described. These are currently being deployed in the UK and the rest of the European Union. The relative merits of both approaches are compared and contrasted, with particular attention being paid to their practicality, cost-effectiveness and ecological relevance. Legal aspects of their use will also be briefly discussed.