Latest blog posts
Manuscript on the assessment of secondary poisoning by the pharmaceutical diclofenac
March 18, 2022 by Dean Leverett
A few weeks ago Adam and Graham had a manuscript on the assessment of secondary poisoning by the pharmaceutical diclofenac accepted for publication by the Journal Environmental Sciences Europe. The paper considers the…
Do you still hold a NONS notification?
February 16, 2022 by Rhiannon Smith
The Dangerous Substance Directive was the pre-cursor to REACH in the EU and notifications made under this Directive were known as NONS (‘Notification Of New Substances’). Currently, NONS notifications for…
Recent Publication on Implementing Bioavailability
February 10, 2022 by Adam Peters
A lack of monitoring data for Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) is often a limiting factor in implementing bioavailability-based Environmental Quality Standards for trace metals such as copper, nickel, and…
SETAC Technical Workshop; Criteria for Reporting and Evaluating Exposure Datasets (CREED)
January 31, 2022 by Graham Merrington
A SETAC Technical Workshop aimed at developing Criteria for Reporting and Evaluating Exposure Datasets (CREED) began, virtually, at the end of January. This follows on from the development…
Bioavailability Implementation Guidance
January 20, 2022 by Adam Peters
Iain, Graham, and Adam have been working on helping environmental regulators to implement bioavailability based Environmental Quality Standards for metals for some years. One of the key tools for doing…
UK REACH: First registration deadline to be extended and new model proposed
December 16, 2021 by Lucy Kennelly
Under UK REACH, all companies producing or importing substances into Great Britain at ≥ 1 tonne per annum must submit a registration to the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
New paper published on the EQS derivation for Diclofenac
December 8, 2021 by Dean Leverett
Dean, Graham and Iain have just published: Environmental quality standards for diclofenac derived under the European Water Framework Directive: 1. Aquatic organisms in Environmental Sciences Europe. The paper focuses…
SETAC North America Special Session: Regulatory Update: Metals in the Environment
November 17, 2021 by Graham Merrington
Graham presented in a session at SETAC North America SciCon4 yesterday on Regulatory Update: Metals in the Environment. Christine Bergeron (USEPA) presented on the current activities in regard to…
The DUIN deadline has passed – what are my next steps?
November 15, 2021 by Sylwia Kosmala-Grzechnik
As the UK is no longer part of the EU, any company intending to import a substance into the UK, at or above 1 tonnes per annum (tpa), has to…
SETAC North America: SciCon4
November 11, 2021 by Iain Wilson
wca are long standing contributors to SETAC conferences, and we are again presenting our work at the SETAC North America 42nd Annual Meeting; SETAC SciCon4. The meeting starts…
Using Water Framework Directive Watch List Data Sets to Estimate Europe‐wide Chemical Exposures and Potential Aquatic Risks: Representativity and Uncertainty?
July 19, 2021 by Graham Merrington
We at wca have been working over the last year and a half on the exposure data for some of the Watch List substances under the Water Framework Directive (WFD),…
Employee Ownership Day
June 17, 2021 by Rhiannon Smith
Did you know that 25 June is employee ownership day? wca are proud to be an employee-owned company and will be celebrating this day along with a…
Pharmaceuticals in the Environment – a Global Challenge Session at SETAC Europe
May 10, 2021 by Dean Leverett
I co-chaired a live virtual discussion on Pharmaceuticals in the Environment in the final session block of SETAC Europe 2021. The discussion was split into three blocks, each covering a…
Importance of Chemical Speciation and Bioavailability in Hazard Assessment, Risk Assessment and Regulation of Metals in Multi-Stressor Environmental Conditions
May 7, 2021 by Adam Peters
Adam Peters co-chaired a discussion session on the Importance of Chemical Speciation and Bioavailability in Hazard Assessment, Risk Assessment and Regulation of Metals in Multi-Stressor Environmental Conditions. There was a…
wca at SETAC 2021: Reliability of fish data for endocrine disruptor hazard assessment
May 4, 2021 by Becky Brown
I am really looking forward to virtual SETAC Europe this week. I have already been able to look at the programme and view some of the scientific content. There…
SETAC Europe 2021 Annual Meeting
April 30, 2021 by Iain Wilson
wca are long standing partners of SETAC Europe. As in previous years, we have a major presence at the 31st Annual SETAC Europe Meeting (Virtual Conference). The meeting starts on…
UK Only Representative (OR) services
April 27, 2021 by Rhiannon Smith
As the initial rush is over, and we reach the deadline for grandfathering substances into UK REACH, many companies are looking to the next deadline in October for submitting Downstream…
UK REACH: Deadline for grandfathering fast approaching
March 2, 2021 by Becky Marks
Under UK REACH, UK-based companies with existing registrations under EU REACH can benefit from grandfathering these into the UK system. This option applies for any UK-based company that held an…
Plant Protection Products – gearing up for IUCLID
February 17, 2021 by Becky Marks
From 27th March 2021 the Transparency Regulation (EU 1381/2019) will come into force, which aims to increase transparency of data and decision making for risk assessments in the…
Use of the Xenopus eleutheroembyronic thyroid assay (XETA) in endocrine assessments
February 9, 2021 by Grace Panter
Becky Brown and myself recently attended an interesting webinar by European Food Safety Authority/European Chemicals Agency (EFSA/ECHA) on how to consider the Xenopus eleuthereombryonic thyroid assay (XETA) in the assessment strategy of…