Dispersant approval procedures in France and Italy: A comparative ecotoxicity study

- The wide use of dispersants implies their potential release in the marine environment.
- For Italian and French approval procedures, dispersant ecotoxicity is mandatory.
- Biossays were performed on two dispersants with algae, crustaceans and fish.
- Italian and French outcomes differ on the same dispersant.
- A possible way of harmonizing their approval procedures is proposed.

A research project has been performed to the request of the RAMOGE Executive Secretariat to identify differences between dispersant approval procedures in France and Italy and propose ways to harmonize them.A collaborative study has been conducted by CEDRE (Centre of Documentation, Research and Experimentation on Accidental Water Pollution) and ISPRA (Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research) to: a) compare current approval procedures in Italy and France with identification of differences and commonalities; b) carry out toxicity tests using both procedures on two selected dispersants; c) propose a common approach between Italy and France.The results showed that, because of the differences in ecotoxicological tests and in the evaluation criteria used, the outcomes on the same products could be different in Italy and in France. Both tested dispersants met the French requirements for approval (LC50 ≥ 10 times reference toxicant), while only one dispersant met the Italian approval criterion (EC50 > 10 mg/L). A possible way of harmonizing the approval procedures could be to increase the number of test organisms in the French procedure, which currently only uses one crustacean species. Furthermore, a common criterion for toxicity assessment should be discussed and agreed.