The toxicity of molybdate to freshwater and marine organisms. II. Effects assessment of molybdate in the aquatic environment under REACH.

The REACH Molybdenum Consortium initiated an extensive research program in order to generate robust PNECs, based on the SSD approach, for both the freshwater and marine environments. This activity was part of the REACH dossier preparation and to form the basis for scientific dialogues with other national and international regulatory authorities. Chronic ecotoxicity data sets for the freshwater and marine environments served as starting point for the derivation of PNECs for both compartments, in accordance with the recommended derivation procedures established by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). The HC(5,50%)s that were derived from the generated Species Sensitivity Distributions were 38.2 mg Mo/L and 5.75 mg Mo/L for the freshwater and marine water compartment, respectively. Uncertainty analysis on both data sets and available data on bioaccumulation at high exposure levels justified an assessment factor of 3 on both HC(5,50%) leading to a PNEC(freshwater) of 12.7 mg Mo/L and a PNEC(marine) of 1.92 mg Mo/L. As there are currently insufficient ecotoxicological data available for the derivation of PNECs in the sediment compartment, the equilibrium partitioning method was applied; typical K(D)-values for both the freshwater and marine compartments were identified and combined with the respective PNEC, leading to a PNEC(sediment) of 22,600 mg/kg dry weight and 1980 mg/kg dry weight for freshwater and marine sediments, respectively. The chronic data sets were also used for the derivation of final chronic values using the procedures that are outlined by the US Environmental Protection Agency for deriving such water benchmarks. Comparing PNECs with FCVs showed that both methodologies result in comparable protective concentration levels for molybdenum in the environment.