Emerging pollutants in the EU: 10 years of NORMAN in support of environmental policies and regulations

Abstract

In 2005, the European Commission funded the NORMAN project to promote a permanent network of reference laboratories and research centers, including academia, industry, standardization bodies, and NGOs. Since then, NORMAN has (i) facilitated a more rapid and wide-scope exchange of data on the occurrence and effects of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), (ii) improved data quality and comparability via validation and harmonization of common sampling and measurement methods (chemical and biological), (iii) provided more transparent information and monitoring data on CECs, and (iv) established an independent and competent forum for the technical/scientific debate on issues related to emerging substances. NORMAN plays a significant role as an independent organization at the interface between science and policy, with the advantage of speaking to the European Commission and other public institutions with the “bigger voice” of more than 70 members from 20 countries. This article provides a summary of the first 10 years of the NORMAN network. It takes stock of the work done so far and outlines NORMAN’s vision for a Europe-wide collaboration on CECs and sustainable links from research to policy-making. It contains an overview of the state of play in prioritizing and monitoring emerging substances with reference to several innovative technologies and monitoring approaches. It provides the point of view of the NORMAN network on a burning issue—the regulation of CECs—and presents the positions of various stakeholders in the field (DG ENV, EEA, ECHA, and national agencies) who participated in the NORMAN workshop in October 2016. The main messages and conclusions from the round table discussions are briefly presented.

Revising Environmental Quality Standards: Lessons Learned

“…It is important that such a database not only provide details on test results, but also on the study evaluation. For example, the EMPODAT ECOTOX module developed by the "Network of reference laboratories, research centres and related organisations for monitoring of emerging substances" (NORMAN) could become such an information platform (Dulio et al 2018). Finally, we highlight the need for legislative changes to increase the availability of (so far) confidential ecotoxicity data, especially for data-poor substances such as pharmaceuticals.…”

Developing a groundwater watch list for substances of emerging concern: a European perspective

“…The current multiparty approach ensures that inputs and concerns from all sectors (EU/national administrations, academia and industry) are considered for the selection of substances for the GWWL and the assessment of monitoring data, groundwater exposure potential, and hazard. Deliberate steps have been taken to ensure that the GWWL concept is in line, as far as possible, with the EU SWWL process and other EU research networks focussed on the selection of potential anthropogenic substances (Dulio et al 2018). For example, some GWWL participants are also involved in the NORMAN network for emerging substance.…”

Tunnel vision in current chemicals management cannot deal with the unknown risk of synthetic chemicals in aquatic systems

“…Chemical status is determined through the calculation of risk quotients for a set of predefined priority substances (currently 45 for the entire union) (European Commission, 2000). At the same time, more than 900 synthetic chemicals are known to be present in inland surface water (Dulio et al, 2018) although this may just be the tip of the iceberg. Still, concentrations and quality standards for the limited list of priority substances govern decisions regarding need of action to improve chemical status.…”