Toxicity Reduction and Toxicity Identification Evaluations for Effluents, Ambient Waters, and Other

In 1977, the U.S. Congress passed the Clean Water Act, an amendment to the 1972 Federal Water Pollution Control Act, to focus on the control of the discharge of toxic pollutants into U.S. waters. As a result, U.S. regulatory agencies adopted guidance and policies to incorporate WET monitoring and limitation. Discharges found or predicted toxic to aquatic life by this monitoring were required to be resolved often through the TRE process with TIE acting as a series of characterization steps that could be used as part of the broader TRE to identify the causes of observed effects. These tools were initially described by the USEPA in the 1990s, but few compendia of updated techniques or knowledge gained were easily accessible. Almost 25 years after the Clean Water Act established a framework for effluent toxicity control, SETAC invited North American and European participants representing universities; government, research, and regulatory agencies; mining and chemical industries; and consulting services to a Pellston Workshop on TRE/TIE to update and advance the understanding of the TRE process and the science of TIE in aqueous effluents, surface water, and sediments. While the goal of the workshop was to document the various aspects of the TRE process with specific attention directed to TIE procedures, what resulted was this comprehensive guide to TRE/TIE, detailing procedures and including more than 30 case studies describing various aspects of the process. This thorough reference will help chemists, toxicologists, regulators, and regulated facilities build on existing knowledge and strategies for successful design and management of TREs and TIEs.