Welcome to bio-met.net
Metals, because of their unique properties, are critical to many of the technologies that modern society relies on. Metals are naturally present in the aquatic environment, but can also be released to it as a consequence of industrial manufacturing, consumer use and recycling. The risks posed by metals to the aquatic environment are managed in many countries. In Europe, these risks are managed by legislation including REACH and the Water Framework Directive.
Compared to many other chemicals (such as pesticides), metals present many challenges to those responsible for managing their safety. Accounting for the bioavailability of metals, using techniques such as the Biotic Ligand Model, resolves many of these difficulties.
bio-met.net is a free online resource for anybody interested in using bioavailability-based approaches for assessing the risk of metals in the freshwater aquatic environment, particularly within the EU Water Framework Directive. bio-met.net is intended as a “one-stop shop” of information, software and guidance. The bio-met site is currently focussed on copper, nickel, zinc and lead, but may be extended in the future to include other metals.
Bio-met.net resources include:
- The bio-met bioavailability tool. Bio-met is a user-friendly tool to assess Environmental Quality Standard (EQS) compliance of metals under the EU Water Framework Directive. Based on scientifically validated Biotic Ligand Models (BLMs), bio-met accounts for the bioavailability of copper, nickel, zinc and lead with one single click!
- An evidence base of information on metal bioavailability and its use in the regulatory risk assessment of metals. This section also contains information on the development and validation of the bio-met bioavailability tool.
- A series of case studies that demonstrate the application of bioavailability-based approaches within the risk-management of metals in the aquatic environment.
- A manual.
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