Water Environmental Engineering Research Division, National Institute of Environmental Research, Environmental Research Complex, Hwangyeong-ro 42, Seo-gu, Incheon, 22689, Republic of Korea.
EH R&C, 114, A-dong, Environmental Industry Research Park, Jeongseojin-ro 410, Incheon, 22689, Republic of Korea.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2020 Feb;189:109933. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.109933. Epub 2019 Nov 19.
Arsenic is a hazardous environmental pollutant widely distributed globally. Arsenic toxicity is well known and it is regulated by many countries in terms of managing water quality and protecting aquatic organisms. Unfortunately, water quality criterion (WQC) to protect aquatic organisms has not been introduced in Korea yet. Thus, it is of great importance and necessity to introduce WQC to protect aquatic organisms from arsenic, as WQC play a significant role in protecting aquatic ecosystems from pollutants. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to derive arsenic water quality criterion for aquatic life in Korea. Arsenic acute toxicity tests were performed with 10 Korean native aquatic species, which belong to 7 different taxonomic groups. Based on the results of acute toxicity test and additional toxicity data from literature, the species sensitivity distribution (SSD) method was used in ecological risk assessment. The arsenic concentration of 95% protection level for aquatic life was 0.229 mg L in this study. An assessment factor 3 and a background concentration 0.0004 mg L were applied to the concentration value in consideration of the uncertainty of the data and the amount of arsenic natural generation. Consequently, the WQC value derived for arsenic was found to be 0.077 mg L. These results will serve as reference values to establish water quality criterion for the protection of aquatic life in Korea.
砷是一种在全球广泛分布的有害环境污染物。砷的毒性是众所周知的，许多国家都在管理水质和保护水生生物方面对其进行了规定。不幸的是，目前韩国还没有制定保护水生生物的水质标准（WQC）。因此，引入 WQC 以防止水生生物受到砷的侵害具有重要意义和必要性，因为 WQC 在保护水生生态系统免受污染物的侵害方面发挥着重要作用。因此，本研究旨在为韩国的水生生物制定砷水质标准。本研究采用了 10 种韩国本土水生物种进行了急性毒性试验，这些物种属于 7 个不同的分类群。基于急性毒性试验的结果和文献中的其他毒性数据，采用物种敏感性分布（SSD）方法进行了生态风险评估。本研究中，砷对水生生物的 95%保护水平浓度为 0.229mg/L。为了考虑数据的不确定性和砷自然生成的量，本研究应用了评估因子 3 和背景浓度 0.0004mg/L。因此，本研究得出的砷的 WQC 值为 0.077mg/L。这些结果将为韩国制定保护水生生物的水质标准提供参考值。
