User friendly BLM
The new Guidance for deriving Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) under the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) supports the use of a tiered compliance assessment regime for metals that incorporates both correction for natural background concentrations and bioavailability. However, the guidance does not provide practical tools to implement a bioavailability-based compliance regime. Moreover, current BLM/WHAM normalisations for Cu, Ni and Zn are time-consuming and not sufficiently user-friendly for regulatory use. To this end, a quick, user-friendly and unified chronic BLM normalisation tool based on full Biotic Ligand Model (BLM) calculations have been developed for several metals (i.e. Cu, Ni and Zn). The tools require the input of the following abiotic water parameters: DOC, pH and Hardness concentration. These user-friendly tools, when used as part of a tiered approach, provide water managers with an opportunity to efficiently account for metal bioavailability in a transparent way and deliver a robust metric of potential environmental risk.
A website has been developed that will act as a portal for all aspects of metal bioavailability and its implementation and includes an online version of the user-friendly tools
The Biomet tool has been developed jointly by ARCHE and WCA. Sponsors of the tool are NIPERA, IZA and ECI
In order to use the tool you must register at our Biometdedicated website and obtain a Login account in order to access the tool and all supporting information.
Keep track of our latest news
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Our QSARCHE model is released
Vertebrate testing under REACH is discouraged by promoting use of alternative non-testing approaches such as QSARs (Quantitative Structure Activity Relationships). Many QSARs are available, however, robust REACH compliant QSARs predicting chronic ecotoxicity to fish are largely lacking. ARCHE filled this data gap by the release of its QSARCHE fish toxicity model. Click to the right to read on.
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ARCHE got inspiration for its newest team event!
At ARCHE we are always in for challenges. So in our search for a thrill exceeding those we already got in our daily work, dealing with the challenges REACH deadlines pose to us and our clients, we stumbled on the following event :-)
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Take home messsages ARCHE's Biocidal Products Regulation training
On January 31st 2012 ARCHE and pIEt consulting have organized, at the ARCHE office in Ghent, a training on the Biocidal Products Regulation. We were happy to welcome 13 people from 11 different companies, from which we all received a positive feedback. Click to the right to read on.
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BIOCIDES 2011 conference in Vienna
ARCHE attended the 14th International annual conference in Vienna (Austria) (28-30th November 2011). The conference is organized by Feierl-Herzele GmbH, that also operates the European Biocides Information Network (https://www.europeanbiocides.net). This fully booked conference is greatly appreciated by participants by its interactive nature and the presence of both industry and government representatives. Click to the right to read on.
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EQSPAE conference in Hong-Kong
ARCHE presented at the International EQSPAE Conference 2011. With this conference, Hong Kong University and SETAC aim to provide an international platform for sharing knowledge on the advancement in the scientific derivation of EQ benchmarks for the protection for aquatic ecosystems and human health. Click to the right to read on.
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The launch of our new website
As you may have noticed by now, we have a new website. And we're quite happy about it too! Click on the arrow on the right for more information.
Meet us at these upcoming events
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6th SETAC World Congres
ARCHE is exhibiting at the 6th SETAC World Congress to be held 20-24 May 2012 in Berlin. In addition we are co-chairing a session on "Collection and use of monitoring data for environmental risk assessment of chemicals" scheduled on wednessday 23 May in the morning.
Topic: Securing a sustainable future: integrating science, policy and people
