Poster Presentation Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Australasia 2023

Novel online tools for the calculation and visualisation of pesticide mixture toxicity in waterways (#218)

Catherine Neelamraju 1 2 , Hayley Kaminski 2 , Alexander Bezzina 2 , Francisco Souza Dias 2 , Jordan Glen 2 , Reinier Mann 2
  1. University of Queensland, Reef Catchments Science Partnership, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
  2. Department of Environment and Science, Water Quality and Investigations, Dutton Park, Queensland, Australia

Unique methods to assess pesticide risk to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR) ecosystems were developed to satisfy specific needs. With the focus shifting to ecosystem-impact approaches, the 2017-2022 Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan (Reef WQIP) water quality improvement target for pesticides was changed from a mass-load reduction target to a ecosystem risk-based target - “To protect at least 99% of aquatic species at the end-of-catchments”. The Pesticide Risk Metric (PRM) was developed to report against the target by calculating the toxicity risk of pesticide mixtures in waterways that discharge to the GBR. The PRM calculates the combined risk posed by up to 22 reference pesticides in a waterway and provides insight into which pesticide(s) are driving the risk. The PRM is a core reporting deliverable for the Great Barrier Reef Catchment Loads Monitoring Program (GBRCLMP), and has been used to report against the Reef WQIP pesticide target for the past three GBR report cards and several Regional Report Cards and reports. Therefore a PRM Dashboard was created to visually display all GBRCLMP PRM scores including individual contributions of the 22 PRM pesticides towards the overall (combined) risk. The PRM Dashboard enables users to interact and download plots with optional download of calculated PRM data. Historically, the PRM has been calculated by scientists in the Water Quality & Investigations (WQI) team; however, the team created a PRM Calculator application to allow stakeholders to calculate their own PRM scores. The PRM Calculator requires raw concentration data from 1 – 22 of the PRM pesticides with accompanying site and date details to calculate the combined pesticide risk. The Calculator is equipped with the same plotting functions and interactivity as the PRM Dashboard and associated communication products. This poster will provide detail, visual examples and links to the PRM Dashboard and PRM Calculator.