The overall aim of the iTAP project is to support the development of methods to allow accurate and precise aquatic environmental risk assessment of cationic polymers. This will lay the foundation for regulatory acceptance based on improved methods for regulatory assessment and compliance testing of polymers. However, there are significant gaps in the knowledge base. How can we reliably measure the aquatic exposure for these charged compounds?
How do we describe environmental exposures and control lab testing exposure concentrations, when dissolved organic carbon (DOC) species such as humic acids can reduce the apparent toxicity of cationic polymers by one or two orders of magnitude? How can we consistently test and describe the toxicity of cationic polymers, which are not expected to pass biological membranes? How do we characterize their impacts in a modern context of the CLP definition substances hazard and toxicity properties? How do we describe the dose-response for materials that are expected to affect the outer membranes of aquatic organisms and functionalities? In this project, we will assess a group of closely related but understudied model cationic polymers that are widely used in industry.
There are many pertinent and challenging questions regarding cationic polymers. The iTAP project will assess in a realistic and consistent way the environmental threat posed by cationic polymers.
