Chemical contamination and the ecological quality of surface water.

In the assessment of the quality of surface waters, the typical procedure is that the concentration of contaminants in the surface water is monitored and subsequently compared with their respective Maximum Permissible Concentrations (MPCs). If the MPCs are not exceeded the water quality is considered to be safe. But can we be certain that this is true? We compared MPCs to observed and calculated effects of measured contaminants in Dutch surface waters and showed that effects of mixtures can cause a daphnid population to go extinct within 30h of exposure even when MPCs are not exceeded. We conclude that there are shortcomings underlying the concepts of the MPCs. And that the MPCs aim to protect 95% of all species is not met.