The OECD software tool for screening chemicals for persistence and long-range transport potential

Abstract

We present the software implementation of The OECD P OV & LRTP Screening Tool (The Tool) that is used to assess the environmental hazard of organic chemicals using metrics of overall persistence ( P OV) and long-range transport potential (LRTP). The Tool is designed to support decision making for chemical management and includes features that are recommended by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) expert group on multimedia modeling. The Tool is useful for screening the environmental hazard potential of non-ionizing organic chemicals whose environmental partitioning can be described by absorptive capacities of environmental media estimated from partitioning between air, water and octanol in the laboratory. The software includes data storage functionality, and a user interface that is designed to facilitate simple data input and straightforward interpretation of the model results. The effect of uncertainties in input properties describing chemicals can be assessed with a Monte Carlo analysis. The software is evaluated and illustrated by comparing results from The Tool with those from other models and by evaluating four substances that are candidates for regulation or ban under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.