United States Environmental Office of Water EPA-822-F-03-014
Protection Agency 4304 • December 2003
FACT SHEET
Methodology for Deriving Ambient Water
Quality Criteria for the Protection of
Human Health (2000)
Technical Support Document, Volume 2:
Development of National
. Bioaccumulation Factors
EPA has released a second technical support document to accompany the Methodology for Deriving
Ambient Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Human Health, published in 2000. The
Technical Support Document Volume 2: Development of National Bioaccumulation Factors
contains technical details on how EPA develops national bioaccumulation factors for use in deriving
national recommended ambient water quality criteria for protecting human health.
Background
Aquatic organisms can accumulate chemicals in their bodies when they are exposed to these
chemicals through water, their diet, and other sources. This process is called bioaccumulation. The
extent of bioaccumulation by aquatic organisms varies widely depending on the chemical and the
species, but it can be extremely high for some highly persistent and lipid-soluble chemicals. For such
highly bioaccumulative chemicals, concentrations in aquatic organisms may pose unacceptable
human health risks from eating fish and shellfish even when concentrations in water are too low to
cause unacceptable health risks from drinking the water.
In order to prevent harmful exposures to chemicals in water through eating contaminated fish and
shellfish, national 304(a) water quality criteria for protecting human health must address chemical
bioaccumulation in aquatic organisms.
About this Technical Support Document
In 2000, EPA published the Methodology for Deriving Ambient Water Quality Criteria for the
Protection of Human Health ("2000 Human Health Methodology"), that updated and revised the
existing 1980 Guidelines and Methodology. The 2000 Human Health Methodology incorporates
scientific advancements made over the past two decades in chemical risk assessment, exposure
assessment, and bioaccumulation.
EPA developed detailed procedures and guidelines described in the 2000 Human Health
Methodology for estimating bioaccumulation factor (BAF) values for use in deriving or revising
ambient water quality criteria. The Technical Support Document Volume 2: Development of National
Bioaccumulation Factors ("National BAF TSD") discusses the technical basis for developing
national BAFs, the underlying assumptions and uncertainties inherent to the approach, and applying
the bioaccumulation component of the 2000 Human Health Methodology.
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Technical Information
Using the 2000 Human Health Methodology, criteria are derived using a bioaccumulation factor to
reflect the uptake and retention of a chemical by fish and shellfish from all sources (e.g., water, food,
sediment), rather than just from water as in bioconcentration factors from the 1980 Guidelines
Methodology. The major changes in the bioaccumulation portion of the 2000 Human Health
Methodology that are described in detail in the National BAF Technical Support Document include a
framework for selecting the appropriate procedure for deriving a BAF that is based on chemical
properties and biological activity and scientific information for deriving national BAFs that were not
available in 1980.
How do I get a copy of the new technical support document?
You can get copies of “Methodology for Deriving Ambient Water Quality Criteria for the Protection
of Human Health, Technical Support Document Volume 2: Development of National
Bioaccumulation Factors” (EPA-822-R-03-030) from EPA’s Water Resource Center by calling
(202) 566-1735. You can request a copy by sending an e-mail to center.water.resource(2 epa.gov or
by conventional mail to: EPA Water Resource Center, 4101T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.,
Washington, DC 20460. You can also download the document from EPA’s web site at
httDs : //www.epa. gov/watersciencelhumanhealthlmethodl .
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