The effects of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) on fish, wildlife, and humans are only partly understood. The MPCA has been collecting occurrence data for a diverse set of CECs, but toxicity data and regulatory or screening values for many of these contaminants don't exist. The agency has developed a screening method — aquatic toxicity profiles — to prioritize those that are most likely to have adverse effects on aquatic life.
Aquatic toxicity profiles will help us prioritize contaminants for monitoring, plan more effective and targeted monitoring studies, identify contaminants that may be good candidates for water quality standards, determine which contaminants would be good candidates for pollution prevention efforts, and communicate risk to the public.
Each profile consists of:
- The technical information used to determine the priority — or level of concern — of each contaminant
- An overview of the concerns related to each contaminant