Do all contaminants found in crude oil have ambient water quality criteria or standards?
There are chemicals related to the BP oil spill for which EPA does not have readily available ambient water quality 304(a) criteria or other established criteria or guidelines. Therefore, toxicity study data and scientific information regarding the toxicity of these chemicals are being used to develop these screening benchmarks. Given the urgency of the BP spill, all available data are used but may not encompass all data necessary for establishing Ambient Water Quality Criteria and/or Standards. Methods for developing sediment benchmarks include use of “Effects Range Low or Median” (ERL or ERM), as well as equilibrium partitioning and narcosis theory.
