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| ICA Research |
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  Basic
environmental research funded by ICA's research programme since its
inception just six years ago has dramatically improved our understanding
of copper in the environment.
Using data derived by some of the finest world-renowned scientists,
ICA has been able to contribute to government regulators' understanding
of how copper truly behaves in the environment.Within the next five
to ten years, the chemical behavior of copper and its inorganic compounds
in surface waters, sediments, and soils will be understood and safe
concentrations will be predictable on a site-specific basis.
Some of the most important areas of ICA's environmental research efforts
include the following:
Power of the Biotic Ligand Model: One of the greatest areas
of success is the refinement and regulatory acceptance of the Biotic
Ligand Model (BLM). The model, which relies on new discoveries about
how aquatic organisms interact with copper, predicts the chemical
behavior of copper under changing water conditions. The BLM was specifically
designed to improve the ability of regulators to apply effective,
accurate, and economic controls on copper discharges to surface waters.
It has the extraordinary power to single out the toxic (i.e., bioavailable)
fraction of copper on a site-specific basis.
Voluntary Copper Risk Assessment for Europe: The European Commission
has changed its policy with respect to conducting environmental and
health risk assessments, putting the onus on industry to demonstrate
the safety of its chemicals and products. The European copper industry
will conduct a voluntary risk assessment of copper and its commercial
compounds.
Sewage Sludge: Twelve percent of European soil is deficient
in copper and many farmers add copper supplements for the benefit
of their crops. This information helped the European Copper Institute
to impact the European Union's directive for sewage sludge, which
will likely lead to less demanding regulations for copper.
Drinking Water: An ICA international working group established
that the threshold for copper in drinking water is 2-3 times greater
than standards set by the World Health Organization, the European
Union, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Plumbing Tube: A better predictive model was developed for
copper in drinking waters from plumbing tube that is helping to predict
the formation of protective scales.
Ecotoxicology: Plants are able to manage and regulate the uptake
of copper from soil. For example, ICA research indicates that the
uptake of copper in tomatoes and onions grown in abnormally high copper
Chilean soils did not elevate copper concentrations in the edible
parts of these plants.
Architecture: A mature copper roof releases half as much copper
as a brand new roof and only 1/10th of the free cupric ion concentrations.
A model was developed to determine how much architectural copper can
be used in a watershed before exceeding water quality standards. Results
from these studies are being used to ease regulatory concerns in Connecticut
and California. |
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