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Web-based Interspecies Correlation Estimation (Web-ICE) for Acute Toxicity: User Manual Version 4.0
Citation:
Lilavois, C., S. Nelson, AND S. Raimondo. Web-based Interspecies Correlation Estimation (Web-ICE) for Acute Toxicity: User Manual Version 4.0. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/B-24/158, 2024.
Impact/Purpose:
This user manual guides risk assessors through the Web-ICE v4.0 application, including updated models and modules for enhanced prediction capabilities. This version of Web-ICE includes a substantial increase in taxonomic diversity to which acute sensitivity can be predicted from most surrogate species. The user manual provides step-by-step instructions to generate acute toxicity and provides user guidance to evaluate the robustness of predictions based on model uncertainty analyses. Web-ICE v4.0 substantially improves the prediction ability of the application and the taxonomic diversity that can be obtained from a few commonly tested surrogates. Web-ICE v4.0 will serve as a NAM for chemical assessments under FIFRA, TSCA, CWA, and ESA.
Description:
Protecting a diversity of species from the adverse effects of chemicals is a significant environmental challenge. Information on the effects of chemicals on species is either limited or lacking entirely, making management and mitigation of environmental contaminants difficult. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) developed the Web-based Interspecies Correlation Estimation (Web-ICE) tool to allow toxicity extrapolation from standard test organisms to diverse taxa, including endangered and non-standard test species. This publicly accessible application allows risk assessors and environmental managers from all sectors to estimate chemical toxicity to a diversity of fresh and saltwater invertebrates, fish, birds, mammals, and aquatic plants (algae) that may have limited toxicity data. With this update to version 4.0, the Web-ICE aquatic database gained new models for aquatic animals in nearly all taxa categories and all model-levels (e.g., species, genus, and family), including 2,294 significant species-level models, up from 1,550 in v3.3. This updated version also includes a new Bulk ICE module, that allows for the prediction of acute toxicity to all species, genus, and/or families from the available surrogates. The Web-ICE tool serves as a New Approach Methodology useful for future Ecological Risk Assessments as animal testing is reduced and new/existing chemicals continue to be manufactured.
URLs/Downloads:
ORD-059079 - WEB-ICE USER MANUAL V4.0_508 COMPLIANT.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 2793.435 KB, about PDF)https://www3.epa.gov/webice/documents/Web-ICE%20user%20manual.pdf