Suter G W
National Center for Environmental Assessment-Cincinnati, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, OH 45268, USA.
Risk Anal. 2000 Apr;20(2):173-8. doi: 10.1111/0272-4332.202018.
This article presents arguments for the development of generic assessment endpoints for ecological risk assessment. Generic assessment endpoints would be ecological entities and attributes that are assumed to be worthy of protection in most contexts. The existence of generic assessment endpoints would neither create a requirement that they be used in every assessment nor preclude the use of other assessment endpoints. They would simply be a starting point in the process of identifying the assessment endpoints for a particular assessment. They are needed to meet legal mandates, to provide a floor for environmental degradation, to provide some consistency in environmental regulation, as exemplars for site- or project-specific assessment endpoints, to allow development of methods and models, to give risk managers the courage to act, for screening and site-independent assessments, to support environmental monitoring, to facilitate communication, and to avoid paralysis by analysis. Generic assessment endpoints should include not only a list of entities and attributes, but also explanations of each endpoint, guidance on their use and interpretation, and measures and models that could be used to estimate them.
本文提出了关于为生态风险评估制定通用评估终点的论据。通用评估终点将是生态实体和属性，假定在大多数情况下它们值得受到保护。通用评估终点的存在既不会产生在每项评估中都必须使用它们的要求，也不会排除使用其他评估终点。它们仅仅是为特定评估确定评估终点过程中的一个起点。需要它们来满足法律要求，为环境退化设定一个底线，在环境监管中提供一定的一致性，作为特定场地或项目评估终点的范例，以便开发方法和模型，让风险管理者有采取行动的勇气，用于筛选和与场地无关的评估，支持环境监测，促进沟通，并避免因过度分析而陷入瘫痪。通用评估终点不仅应包括实体和属性列表，还应包括每个终点的解释、关于其使用和解释的指南，以及可用于估计它们的措施和模型。
