(79c) Risk-Based Assessment of Refinery and Petrochemical Plant Effluents

This presentation will discuss assessment of hazard and risk of effluent discharges from refinery and petrochemical plants in receiving waters. Besides monitoring of conventional (e.g. pH, BOD) wastewater parameters and specific chemical constituents, use of Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) testing is used extensively in North America to provide a holistic hazard assessment of effluent discharges. Combining this with information on exposure (e.g. dilution, receiving water characteristics) can facilitate an overall risk assessment. Using a tiered approach to risk-based assessment can help to achieve risk to the environment “As Low as Reasonably Practicable” (ALARP) in a way that minimizes unnecessary testing. Use of Toxicity Identification Evaluation (TIE) to help understand causes of toxicity can be used to then develop risk reduction strategies.