Assessment of refinery effluents and receiving waters using biologically-based effect methods

Report no. 1/12: Within the EU it is apparent that the regulatory focus on the use of biologically-based effects methods in the assessment of refinery effluents and receiving waters have increased in the past decade. This has been reflected in a recent refinery survey which revealed an increased use of such methods for assessing the quality of refinery effluents and their receiving waters.

This report provides an overview of recent techniques used for this purpose. Several case studies provided by CONCAWE member companies describe the application of biological methods to effluent discharge assessment and surface water monitoring.