Ecological Soil Screening Level
The Ecological Soil Screening Level (Eco-SSL) derivation process represents the collaborative effort of a multi-stakeholder workgroup consisting of federal, state, consulting, industry and academic participants led by the U.S. EPA, Office of Emergency and Remedial Response. It is emphasized that the Eco-SSLs are soil screening numbers, and as such are not appropriate for use as cleanup levels. Screening ecotoxicity values are derived to avoid underestimating risk. Requiring a cleanup based solely on Eco-SSL values would not be technically defensible.
The Eco-SSL web site provides an overview of the contaminant. Separate discussion are provided for each receptor group including a comprehensive list of literature evaluated under the effort, and a summary of data used in deriving Eco-SSL values. For each chemical, Eco-SSL documents are provided in a PDF format. For some documents HTML versions are available with linkages to the toxicity data records within the U.S. EPA’s ECOTOX database.
- Interim Eco-SSL Documents
See the Interim Ecological Soil Screening Level Documents page to view/download available documents for metal and organic contaminants.
- Guidance Documents and SOPs
See the Guidance for Developing Ecological Soil Screening Levels page to view/download the guidance document, all standard operating procedures, and other attachments.
- Literature Identification
Potentially applicable publications were identified through comprehensive searches of the open literature (see Attachment 3-1 for plants and soil invertebrates, and Attachment 4-2 for mammals and birds). Literature citations and full articles were skimmed for potential applicability and acceptability to the Eco-SSL effort (see Attachment 3-1 and Attachment 3-2 for plants and soil invertebrates, and Attachment 4-3 for mammals and birds).
Publications identified as "Acceptable" met all minimum criteria and received a sufficient score during the data evaluation process, but may not have been used to derive the final Eco-SSL due to other data selection requirements (see Attachment 3-2 for plants and soil invertebrates and Attachment 4-3 for mammals and birds). Publications identified as "Not Acceptable" either did not meet all the acceptance criteria, fell into exclusion categories, or did not receive a sufficient score in the evaluation process. See Literature Rejection Category Keywords for definition of codes describing the basis for rejecting a paper.
Plant / Invertebrate Avian / Mammal Antimony Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Not Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Arsenic Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Not Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Barium Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Not Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Beryllium Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Not Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Cadmium Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Not Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Chromium Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Not Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Cobalt Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Not Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Copper Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Not Acceptable Papers PDF PDF DDT and metabolites Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Not Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Dieldrin Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Not Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Lead Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Not Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Manganese Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Not Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Nickel Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Not Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Pentachlorophenol Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Not Acceptable Papers PDF PDF RDX Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Not Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Selenium Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Not Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Silver Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Not Acceptable Papers PDF PDF TNT Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Not Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Total PAHs Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Not Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Vanadium Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Not Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Zinc Acceptable Papers PDF PDF Not Acceptable Papers PDF PDF - Tools
U.S. EPA's Guidelines for Ecological Risk Assessment
Site useful in obtaining pH and organic matter for specific soil types:
- Frequent Questions
When will the Eco-SSL Chemical Specific documents be finalized?
The Eco-SSL Chemical Specific documents are interim in case this publication results in the submission of a significant number of new studies that were missed in the original literature searches. If this happens, EPA would review the tests and recalculate the final Eco-SSL.
When will the remaining Interim Eco-SSLs and Documentation be completed?
EPA is currently working on the 'pending' documents, but does not have a specific schedule for future release of documents.