Bioanalytical Tools

Regulatory risk assessment of chemicals and pesticides does not include any temporal aspects. In contrast, for water quality assessment within the Water Framework Directive, Environmental Quality Standards account for long-term and short-term exposure of aquatic organisms.
Two types of Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) for water exist in the Water Framework Directive (annual average-EQS (AA-EQS) and maximum acceptable concentration-EQS (MAC-EQS)).

a)    What is their difference with respect to temporal aspects?

b)    How are EQS derived?

c)    Do you think that the AA-EQS are sufficiently protective for fluctuating exposure throughout one year?

What is the potential of bioanalytical tools to replace or complement water quality guideline values?

How do biomarkers differ from bioanalytical tools?