The Bioaccumulation Assessment Tool

The Bioaccumulation Assessment Tool (BAT)

The Bioaccumulation Assessment Tool (BAT) was created to support users in systematically applying bioaccumulation assessment approaches by guiding the efficient collection, generation, evaluation, and integration of multiple lines of evidence for aquatic and air-breathing organisms.

Developed by Arnot Research and Consulting with input from stakeholders across academia, government, and industry, and supported by research funding from Concawe, Cefic LRI, and the ACC LRI, the BAT provides a consistent and pragmatic framework for applying bioaccumulation assessment methods and guidance. The first version, BAT v1.0, was released in October 2018, with the latest update, BAT v2.02, published in September 2021.

The new update, BAT v2.03, will soon be available here.

Background

Lines of evidence for bioaccumulation (B) assessment relies on multiple complementary lines of evidence, each offering different methods, metrics, and classification criteria:

• In vivo (laboratory): bioconcentration factors (BCFs), biomagnification factors (BMFs)
• In vitro: biotransformation rate data (S9, hepatocytes) used in in vitro–in vivo extrapolation (IVIVE)
• Field data: BMFs, bioaccumulation factors (BAFs), trophic magnification factors (TMFs)
• In silico: QSARs for BCFs and biotransformation rate constants, and mass balance bioaccumulation (toxicokinetic) models

What the BAT does

This tool can:

• Guide the collection, generation, evaluation and integration of multiple lines of evidence
• Support bioaccumulation assessment decision-making for aquatic and air-breathing organisms
• Provide a systematic, transparent and consistent weight-of-evidence (WoE) framework, including evaluation of data confidence
• Offer a user-friendly Excel™ interface, with the User Manual and Quick Start Guide embedded as PDFs

How to use BAT

Registration is required to download BAT. You can request access and download the tool here.