2nd SOLUTIONS Workshop on Prioritization Methodologies
jointly held with
the FRAM Center for Future Chemical Risk Assessment and Management Strategies
at Gothenburg University
Integrating Mixture Risk Assessment into Prioritization Procedures
under the EU Water Framework Directive
9 – 10 February 2017
Wallenberg Conference Center of the University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Draft Programme
Registration Deadline 30 January 2017
Joint SOLUTIONS & FRAM Workshop
9-10 Feb 2017, Wallenberg Conference Center, Gothenburg, SE
Draft Agenda
Thursday, 9 February
09:00
Registration / Tea & Coffee
PLENARY SESSION I: SETTING THE SCENE
09:20
Welcome & introduction to the workshop
Michael Faust, SOLUTIONS partner F+B, Bremen, Germany
09:35
SOLUTIONS work related to the workshop topics
Werner Brack, SOLUTIONS coordinator, UFZ Leipzig, Germany
10:00
FRAM work related to the workshop topics
Thomas Backhaus, FRAM director, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
10:25
Commission activities and expectations related to the workshop topics: Overview from
a broader policy perspective
Peter Korytar, European Commission DG ENV.B.2 - Sustainable Chemicals,
Brussels, Belgium
10:55
Tea & Coffee Break
11:15
DISCUSSION GROUPS (DG)
DG 1
Chair:
Rapporteur:
How to identify priority mixtures?
Werner Brack, UFZ Leipzig, Germany
Andreas Kortenkamp, Brunel University London, UK
DG 2
Chair:
Rapporteur:
How to identify drivers of mixture risks?
Leo Posthuma, RIVM, Bilthoven, The Netherlands
Thomas Backhaus, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
DG 3
Chair:
Rapporteur:
How to set Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) for priority mixtures?
Rolf Altenburger, UFZ Leipzig, Germany
Michael Faust, F+B, Bremen, Germany
12:30
Lunch Break
13:30
CONTINUATION OF DISCUSSION GROUPS
15:00
Tea & Coffee Break
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Joint SOLUTIONS & FRAM Workshop
9-10 Feb 2017, Wallenberg Conference Center, Gothenburg, SE
PLENARY SESSION II: ENLIGHTENING THE BACKGROUND
15:15
EQS for Mixtures: Evolution of the Concept and Prospects for Implementation
Marco Vighi, IMDEA Water Institute, Madrid, Spain; member of SCHEER (The European
Commission's Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks)
15:45
Linking environmental status to legal requirements - legal challenges of setting and
implementing EQS for chemical mixtures
Lena Gipperth, Department of Law, University of Gothenburg, Sweden,
16:15
The Maximum Cumulative Ratio as a tool for mixture prioritization and driver
identification
Paul Price, Unites States Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC
16:45
Tea & Coffee Break
17:00
Effect-based tools (EBT) in a water and marine regulatory framework – current use and
future prospects
Ann-Sofie Wernersson, Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management, Gothenburg,
Sweden; co-leader of activities on EBTs under CIS (Common Implementation Strategy for
the Water Framework Directive)
PLENARY SESSION III: UPDATE ON STAKEHOLDER VIEWS AND ACTIVITIES
17:30
European Commission DG Environment C.1 - Clean Water, Brussels, Belgium
Presentation given by Stéphanie Schaan
17:50
European Commission DG Joint Research Centre (JRC) - Mixtures Project Team, Ispra,
Italy
Presentation given by Stephanie Bopp
18:10
European Environment Agency (EEA), Copenhagen, Denmark
Presentation given by Caroline Whalley
18:30
End of Day 1
18:45
Conference Dinner
Friday, 10 February
CONTINUATION OF PLENARY SESSION III: UPDATE ON STAKEHOLDER VIEWS
AND ACTIVITIES
09:00
European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) - Classification and Prioritisation Unit, Helsinki,
Finland
Presentation given by Peter Lepper
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Joint SOLUTIONS & FRAM Workshop
9-10 Feb 2017, Wallenberg Conference Center, Gothenburg, SE
09:20
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Parma, Italy
Presentation given by Christer Hogstrand, King’s College London, UK; Chair of EFSA’s
Scientific Committee Working Group on “Harmonisation of risk assessment methodologies
for human health and ecological risk assessment of combined exposure to multiple
chemicals”
09:40
KEMI (Kemikalieinspektionen) - Swedish Chemicals Agency, Sundbyberg, Sweden
Presentation given by N.N.
10:00
Ökotoxzentrum - Swiss Centre for Applied Ecotoxicology, Dübendorf, Switzerland
Presentation given by Marion Junghans
10:20
Tea & Coffee Break
10:40
CONTINUATION OF DISCUSSION GROUPS
12:10
Lunch Break
PLENARY SESSION IV: DISCUSSION GROUPS OUTCOMES
13:10
Report from Discussion Group 1
13:40
Report from Discussion Group 2
14:10
Report from Discussion Group 3
14:40
Wrap up
15:00
End / Farewell Tea & Coffee
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Joint SOLUTIONS & FRAM Workshop
9-10 Feb 2017, Wallenberg Conference Center, Gothenburg, SE
About the Workshop
Aims
The workshop aims to explore options for integrating assessments of mixture toxicity and cumulative
risks of chemicals in the aquatic environment into prioritization procedures under the EU Water
Framework Directive (WFD). The workshop will focus on three main topics:
(i)
How to identify priority mixtures?
(ii)
How to identify drivers of mixture risks?
(iii)
How to set Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) for priority mixtures?
Concepts, criteria, models and experimental tools for tackling these questions shall be discussed.
Barriers to effective problem solving, and possible ways to overcome them, shall be identified. Both
environmental risks and human health risks from mixtures of chemicals in fresh and marine waters
shall be taken into consideration. Prior attention will be given to approaches that fit into the
framework provided by the current legal text of the WFD. However, the discussion may also include
approaches that would require a revision of the WFD in adaptation to scientific progress.
As a forum for this debate, the workshop brings together SOLUTIONS partners and advisors, FRAM
members and advisors, and invited external experts from science, regulation and other stakeholder
groups. All participants are encouraged to bring in their views and to suggest effective approaches to
the three topics. The mutual feedback is expected to help shaping current and future work on these
issues in both FRAM and SOLUTIONS. As a publishable output, the workshop results shall be
documented in three discussion papers on the three main topics.
Background
As a strategy “against water pollution by individual pollutants or groups of pollutants presenting a
significant risk”, Article 16 of the WFD requires the risk-based identification of priority substances and
the setting of corresponding EQS [1]. Current procedures for these purposes are focused on individual
chemicals. They are assessed as if they would occur in isolation, largely ignoring the fact that they are
part of complex multi-constituent mixtures. In 2012, The European Commission recognized the needs
to identify “priority mixtures” and “main drivers of mixture toxicity” across the different pieces of EU
legislation [2], but significant progress towards these aims has not yet been achieved. In 2011, the
Commission's Scientific Committees proposed a number of criteria for prioritizing “mixtures of
potential concern” [3], but the approach has not been taken forward towards actual regulatory
applications. Also in 2011, a short chapter on the calculation of quality standards “for substances
occurring in mixtures” was included in the guideline for deriving EQS under the WFD [4], but apparently
this guidance has not been practically used and it leaves much room for improvement.
The workshop will make a fresh attempt to remove these deficiencies.
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Joint SOLUTIONS & FRAM Workshop
9-10 Feb 2017, Wallenberg Conference Center, Gothenburg, SE
Context
The workshop is the second one in a series of conferences on needs and options for the advancement
of prioritization methodologies. The first one examined the state-of-the-art and derived
recommendations for SOLUTIONS work on the issue. It was organized jointly with the NORMAN
network and took place in Paris in 2014 (http://www.norman-network.net/?q=node/156). As an
outflow, three opinion pieces were published in the ET&C Perspectives column [5].
Workshop format
The workshop will have a 1 ½ day format, structured into plenary presentation sessions and discussion
sections in three parallel break-out groups. The three main workshop topics shall be addressed by one
discussion group each.
The workshop is planned to provide a discussion forum for around 40 to 60 participants (up to 20 per
discussion group). If required, the reserved conference facilities will allow to host up to 90 participants
as the absolute possible maximum.
Output
Discussion papers resulting from the workshop are intended to be published in Integr. Enviro. Assess.
Manage. (IEAM) or another appropriate journal. All discussion group participants will be invited to
actively contribute as co-authors, but this is not a pre-condition for workshop participation. The
discussion papers are not intended to be consensus statements but to outline the range of available
options for problem solution and to identify both lines of consensus and lines of dispute about the best
way forward.
As an option, the discussion papers may become part of a special issue of IEAM or another journal.
Such a special issue could be populated with invited articles from individual workshop participants, if
there is sufficient interest.
Steering committee
Three pairs of “topic leaders” will each act as chair and rapporteur for one of the three workshop
topics. Additionally, they will act as leading authors for realizing the corresponding discussion papers.
Collectively they form the steering committee for the workshop. The members are:






Werner Brack, UFZ Leipzig, Germany (SOLUTIONS coordinator)
Rolf Altenburger, UFZ Leipzig, Germany, (SOLUTIONS sub-project leader)
Thomas Backhaus, University of Gothenburg, Sweden (FRAM director and SOLUTIONS partner)
Leo Posthuma, RIVM, Bilthoven, The Netherlands (SOLUTIONS partner and FRAM advisor)
Andreas Kortenkamp, Brunel University London, UK (SOLUTIONS partner)
Michael Faust, F+B, Bremen, Germany (SOLUTIONS partner, responsible workshop organiser)
As means for structuring the debates, background briefing papers will be prepared on each of the three
topics and distributed to the workshop participants beforehand.
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Joint SOLUTIONS & FRAM Workshop
9-10 Feb 2017, Wallenberg Conference Center, Gothenburg, SE
Plenary presentations
Plenary presentations will set scene (Session I) and enlighten the background (Session II) for the
discussions, and they will update the workshop participants about views and activities of SOLUTIONS
and FRAM stakeholders (Session III).
To set the scene (Plenary Session I), the SOLUTIONS coordinator (Werner Brack) and the FRAM director
(Thomas Backhaus) will provide an overview on SOLUTIONS and FRAM research work that is related to
the workshop topics. Peter Korytar, policy coordinator at the Sustainable Chemicals unit of the
European Commission’s DG Environment, will place the workshop topics into a broader policy
perspective and provide an update on relevant Commission views and activities.
To enlighten the background (Plenary Session II), four invited external experts will give keynote
lectures on conceptual, legal, and methodological aspects of the workshop topics. Marco Vighi,
member of the European Commission's Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging
Risks (SCHEER) will review the evolvement of the concept of EQS for mixtures, and Lena Gipperth, from
the Department of Law at Gothenburg University, will explain the legal challenges of setting EQS for
mixtures. Paul Price from the Unites States Environmental Protection Agency, and Ann-Sofie
Wernersson from the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management, will speak about
component-based modelling approaches and effect-based testing approaches for mixture
prioritisation and driver identification, respectively.
To update the workshop participants about relevant stakeholder views and activities (Plenary
Session III), representatives of two Commission services (DG ENV.C.1 - Clean Water unit, and DG JRC),
three EU agencies and authorities (EEA, EFSA, ECHA), and two Member States (KEMI, Sweden, and the
Swiss Centre for Applied Ecotoxicology) will give brief planetary presentations.
Stakeholder participation
In addition to all the organisations represented by plenary speakers (as listed above), delegates from
a number of other stakeholders will kindly add their ideas and experience to the discussion groups,
including the French National Competence Centre for Industrial Safety and Environmental Protection
(INERIS), the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA), the Italian National Institute for
Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), and the Netherlands National Institute for Public
Health and the Environment (RIVM).
Venue
Conference Centre Wallenberg, Medicinaregatan 20 A, SE 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden
(http://www.gu.se/english/conferences/conference-packages/wallenberg).
Dates and travelling times
Day 1 (Thursday 9 February 2017)
09h00 – 18h45
followed by a workshop dinner at the conference site
Day 2 (Friday 10 February 2017)
09h00 – 15h00
Participants from abroad will need to travel to Gothenburg on the day before the meeting (Wednesday
8 February), but will be able to travel back home on Friday (10 February) after the end of the meeting.
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Joint SOLUTIONS & FRAM Workshop
9-10 Feb 2017, Wallenberg Conference Center, Gothenburg, SE
On Friday evening, direct and connecting flights from Gothenburg airport to European destinations do
not depart before 17:30 and can be easily reached.
Participation and costs
The workshop is open to all SOLUTIONS partners and FRAM members and their co-workers, all
members of the SOLUTIONS stakeholder board and the FRAM advisory board and their delegates, and
to all participants of the 1st SOLUTIONS workshop on prioritisation methodologies, which was
organised jointly with the NORMAN network. Participation of other external experts is on personal
invitation only.
No registration fees apply.
Drinks and meals during the workshop will be offered free of charge, including the workshop dinner
which is kindly sponsored by FRAM.
SOLUTIONS partners and FRAM members (if applicable) must bear their travel and accommodation
costs from their own SOLUTIONS or FRAM budgets, respectively.
Personally invited external experts will get their travel and accommodation costs reimbursed from the
SOLUTIONS Workpackage 2 budget.
Participation of all members of both the SOLUTIONS stakeholder board and the FRAM advisory board
is highly appreciated. Unfortunately, however, no budget is available for refunding travel costs of all
stakeholder and advisory board members for this event, and therefore they are kindly requested to
bear them on their own. Exemptions apply to personally invited experts, as indicated above.
Further information
Scientific workshop organisation:
Michael Faust (SOLUTIONS), [email protected]
Local organisation:
Åsa Arrhenius (FRAM), [email protected]
About FRAM
FRAM is a multi-disciplinary academic centre established in 2016 at Gothenburg University, Sweden.
FRAM works towards defining safe local, regional and global boundaries for chemical pollution that
protect ecosystem services against the impact of the totality of chemical emissions and exposures.
Prof. Dr. Thomas Backhaus is the director of the centre. http://fram.gu.se/
About SOLUTIONS
SOLUTIONS is a Collaborative Project funded by the European Commission. 39 partner organisations
work together on the development of Solutions for present and future emerging pollutants in land and
water resources management, as the full project title says. SOLUTIONS is coordinated by PD Dr. Werner
Brack from the UFZ Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany. http://solutions-project.eu/
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Joint SOLUTIONS & FRAM Workshop
9-10 Feb 2017, Wallenberg Conference Center, Gothenburg, SE
References
[1] Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a
framework for the Community action in the field of water policy. Off J Eur Union L 327:1-72; as last amended
by Commission Directive 2014/101/EU of 30 October 2014.
Available online at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:02000L006020141120&from=EN
[2] EC (European Commission). 2012. The combination effects of chemicals, Chemical mixtures. Communication
from the Commission to the Council, COM(2012) 252 final, Brussels, 31.5.2012.
Available online at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52012DC0252&from=EN
[3] EC (European Commission). 2011. Toxicity and Assessment of Chemical Mixtures. Directorate-General for
Health & Consumers - Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (SCHER), Scientific Committee
on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS),
final approved opinion.
Available online at
http://ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/environmental_risks/docs/scher_o_155.pdf
[4] EC (European Communities). 2011. Technical Guidance for Deriving Environmental Quality Standards.
Common Implementation Strategy for the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC), Guidance Document No.
27.
Available online at https://circabc.europa.eu/sd/a/0cc3581b-5f65-4b6f-91c6-433a1e947838/TGD-EQS%20CISWFD%2027%20EC%202011.pdf
[5] Brack W, Heiss C, Küster A, Dulio V, Slobodnik J, Faust M, Backhaus T. 2015. The challenge: prioritisation of
emerging pollutants. Environ Toxicol Chem 34, 2181-2187.
Available online at http://www.normannetwork.net/sites/default/files/files/Events/2014/NORMAN_June_Paris/Brack-2015Environmental_Toxicology_and_Chemistry.pdf
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Joint SOLUTIONS & FRAM Workshop
9-10 Feb 2017, Wallenberg Conference Center, Gothenburg, SE
Practical Information
Suggested accommodation
Conference delegates are kindly requested to make their own travel arrangements and hotel bookings.
There are no hotels in the vicinity of the conference center. We recommend to stay in the city center
of Gothenburg. From there, the venue can be easily reached by tram as detailed below. The name of
the tram stop closest to the venue is Medicinaregatan (see map below).
In the following we suggest a selection of four hotels in central Gothenburg with good connections to
both the airport and the conference center. Many more are available via the usual hotel search
engines.
Please note that a special discount price for workshop participants has been negotiated with Gothia
Towers, the first hotel on the list.
Gothia Towers
–
Standard price from~ 1500 SEK/night (~154 €)
–
Special discount price for workshop participants: 1199 SEK/night (~123 €)
To get the discount price, enter PROBIOENV into the code field of the online booking form
at https://online.gothiatowers.com/reserve
The page may appear in Swedish but can be switched to English by using the button in the
upper right hand corner. The discount price applies to a standard room and includes breakfast.
The discount is valid for up to 3 nights with arrival on the 8th (or later) and departure on the
10th or 11th of February (for participants wishing to stay until Saturday)
–
–
Very close to the stop of the airport coaches (stop Korsvägen)
Tram to the conference center: tram stop Korsvägen, tram 6 direction Länsmansgården via
Sahlgrenska or tram 8 direction Frölunda. Leaves every 3rd minute. Trip takes ~10 minutes.
Clarion Hotel Post
–
–
–
Price ~ 1500 SEK/night (~154 €).
If you arrive with the airport coaches from Landvetter airport, disembark at Nils Ericsson
Terminal/Gothenburg Central Station
Tram to the conference center: tram stop Drottningtorget. Take either tram 7 direction
Tynnered or tram 13 direction Sahlgrenska. Leaves every 7th minute and the trip takes ~15min
Scandic Rubinen
–
–
–
Price ~ 1100 SEK/night (~112 €).
If you arrive with the airport coaches from Landvetter airport, disembark at Kungsportsplatsen
Tram to the conference center: tram stop Kungsportsplatsen. Take tram 7 direction Tynnered.
Leaves every 7th minute and the trip takes ~10min
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Joint SOLUTIONS & FRAM Workshop
9-10 Feb 2017, Wallenberg Conference Center, Gothenburg, SE
Comfort Hotell Göteborg
–
–
–
Price ~1000 SEK/night (~102 €).
If you arrive with the airport coaches from Landvetter airport , disembark at Nils Ericsson
Terminal/Gothenburg Central Station. Then change to bus 60, Red (Röd), Blue (Blå) or tram 9
or 1 to Stenpiren bus stop.
Tram to the conference center: 10min walk to Brunnsparken for tram 7 direction Tynnered
(every 7 minutes) OR 10 min walk to Järntorget for tram 6 direction Kortedala via Sahlgrenska
(every 15 minutes). Total time for both these options are ~20min.
Local transport
From/to Landvetter airport
By taxi
Taxis are located directly outside the arrival hall at Landvetter Airport. A trip to/from Gothenburg is
around 500 SEK (~60 €) and takes around 20 minutes. For going back directly from the conference
center to the airport, taxi sharing may be arranged during the workshop.
By bus
The Airport Coaches offer transfers between Landvetter Airport and Gothenburg city center with
departures every fifteen minutes. The journey takes, depending on where you disembark, 20-30
minutes.
Where to buy bus tickets?
–
Online
The most convenient way is to buy bus tickets directly on the internet via the webshop:
Flygbussarna - Airport coaches.
Price: Adult/return SEK 185 (~20€).
–
On board by card
Tickets may be bought on board but only with credit/debit cards. Accepted cards are: VISA,
MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club, VISA Electron and Maestro. Price: Adult/return
SEK 195 (~21€).
Transport to/from the Conference Center Wallenberg within Gothenburg
Address of the conference center is:
Conference Center Wallenberg, Medicinaregatan 20 A.
By trams, buses
See directions above from the different recommended hotels. The tram stop is called
“Medicinaregatan”. Follow Medicinaregatan pass the allotment gardens, continue half way up a hill
and the conference center is to the right. Walk is approximately 7 minutes. See the following map:
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Joint SOLUTIONS & FRAM Workshop
9-10 Feb 2017, Wallenberg Conference Center, Gothenburg, SE
Getting around with the tram in Gothenburg
First time travelling in Gothenburg? See Västtrafiks “ Public transport guide for beginners”
There are several ticket options e.g. you can buy single tickets, a tourist and a visitor card for three or
five days. Tickets can be bought in most kiosks and certainly in any Pressbyrån kiosk. Tickets can also
be bought on the bus or tram in the blue machines using your credit card.
Single ticket
A ticket costs 28 SEK (~3€) and is valid for 90 min. Get your ticket on the bus from the driver or at the
tram from the big blue machine in the middle of the tram, pay with cash or card.
24 hour ticket (Endygnsbiljett)
Costs 85 SEK (~10€). Ride the tram or bus as many times as you like during 24 hours. Cheaper than
single ticket if you ride four times or more during 24 hours.
Three day ticket
Costs 170 SEK (~20€). Ride the tram or bus as many times as you like during three days (72 hours).
Cheaper than single ticket if you ride seven times or more during three days.
For further information about tickets, timetables etc visit Västtrafik.
In case of problems during local travelling: please call Åsa Arrhenius (+46-(0)766-182625) or Thomas
Backhaus (+46-(0)734-459996
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