Following the evidence and using the appropriate regulatory tools: A European-wide risk assessment of copper in...

The ecological risks of copper (Cu) in freshwaters have been the focus of regulatory assessments for several decades. Recently, it has been suggested by the European Commission that Cu represents a continent-wide risk to freshwaters. We assessed to what extent this suggestion is supported by the available evidence if Cu bioavailability is considered in the assessment of risk. We used several evidence-driven metrics to assess the continental-wide risks of Cu to European freshwaters. Such an approach is recommended and readily applicable where comprehensive data sets are available. We confirmed the validity of a bioavailability-based Environmental Quality Standard of 1 µg L^-1 for Cu and used this to characterize the risks of Cu in 286 185 regulatory monitoring samples from 17 307 sites across 19 European countries between 2006 and 2021. These data show that risks, based on site averages and accounting for bioavailability, were identified in only two countries (Spain and Portugal). Investigation of these risks showed them to be highly localized to a single region in Spain and not reflective of the country-wide risks for either country. The 95th percentile of all the risk quotients for the continent-wide data set is 0.35. The relatively low levels of risk associated with Cu are supported by long-term trend data from sites on two large European rivers (Rhine and Meuse), where highly significant (p < 0.001) decreases in Cu concentrations over the last 40 years can be observed. We conclude that it is critical to consider metal bioavailability in both effects and exposures in assessments of potential risk to ensure ecological relevance. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2023;19:1570-1580. © 2023 WCA Environment Ltd. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).