ABSTRACT
The responsible ecological risk assessment practitioner understands the value of brief narratives; they preclude hazard quotient computation, something that should be avoided at all costs if possible. The preparers of the misguided deliverable had overlooked the reality that, simply because contamination is present, concluding that ecological receptors are at risk and that a cleanup must proceed do not automatically follow. Further, there could be appropriate testing applied to establish if the receptors, painted as imperiled, were really so. Critically, a negotiating party can reserve the right to demonstrate that, despite contamination, all the species that should be supported, in fact are. In recognition of the reality that receptor exposures to site contamination are anything but new, still another category of study encourages parties to conduct direct health status assessments in the field. A related study category solicits the dosing of animals in a non-traditional way, where the natural chemical weathering that occurs with time is physically incorporated into the experimentation.
