Contribution of mesocosm testing to a single-step and exposure-driven environmental risk assessment of engineered nanomaterials

Melanie Auffan (1) , Armand Masion (1) , Catherine Mouneyrac (2) , Camille de Garidel-Thoron (1) , Christine Ogilvie Hendren (3) , Alain Thiery (4) , Catherine Santaella (5, 6) , Laure Giamberini (7) , Jean-Yves Bottero (1) , Mark R Wiesner (3) , Jérôme Rose (1)

1 CEREGE - Centre européen de recherche et d'enseignement des géosciences de l'environnement
2 MMS - Mer, molécules et santé EA 2160
3 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Duke University
4 IMB - Institut de Mathématiques de Bordeaux
5 BIAM - Institut de Biosciences et Biotechnologies d'Aix-Marseille (ex-IBEB)
6 LEMIRE - Laboratoire d'Ecologie Microbienne de la Rhizosphère et d'Environnements Extrêmes
7 LIEC - Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire des Environnements Continentaux

Environmental risk assessment of nanomaterials generally relies on a decision-tree based strategy which provides guidance and protocols for the determination of a collection of hazard end-points. Mesocosm testing is based on a different approach. This method consists in monitoring the evolution of a recreated miniature ecosystem subsequent to a nanomaterial contamination. The only decision in this risk assessment strategy is the definition of an environmentally relevant exposure scenario (incl. dose), which, given current analytical capabilities, may unfavorably affect the nature and precision of parameters and end points to be determined. Despite these limitations, mesocosm testing bears clear advantages for the determination of both exposure and hazard in a single experiment, and for producing dependable and intercomparable data.

Keywords: Environmental risk; Mesocosm experiment; Ecosystem

Domains: Environmental Sciences; Environmental Sciences; Environmental and Society

Melanie Auffan, Armand Masion, Catherine Mouneyrac, Camille de Garidel-Thoron, Christine Ogilvie Hendren, et al.. Contribution of mesocosm testing to a single-step and exposure-driven environmental risk assessment of engineered nanomaterials. NanoImpact, 2019, 13, pp.66-69. ⟨10.1016/j.impact.2018.12.005⟩. ⟨hal-01978207⟩