Uncertainty estimates

The fixed and relative standard deviation (\(s\) and \(v\)) derived from the ICES data base (extraction date: 9 January 2023) and used to estimate missing uncertainties are tabulated below for biota, sediment and water. The unit only applies to the fixed standard deviation; the relative standard deviation is unitless. The notes at the bottom of each table describe the approach taken when there were insufficient data in the ICES data base to derive the fixed and relative standard deviations.


Biota

group code name unit fixed sd relative sd
Metals AS Arsenic \(\mu\)g/kg 3.1333 0.0753
CD Cadmium \(\mu\)g/kg 0.5269 0.0714
CR Chromium \(\mu\)g/kg 3.0000 0.1289
CO Cobalt \(\mu\)g/kg 0.3000 0.1250
CU Copper \(\mu\)g/kg 2.0000 0.0763
PB Lead \(\mu\)g/kg 2.3333 0.1000
HG Mercury \(\mu\)g/kg 0.5383 0.0895
NI Nickel \(\mu\)g/kg 3.1667 0.1390
SE Selenium \(\mu\)g/kg 3.1547 0.0902
AG Silver \(\mu\)g/kg 1.6333 0.1325
SN Tin \(\mu\)g/kg 3.3333 0.2500
ZN Zinc \(\mu\)g/kg 50.0000 0.0718
Organotins MBSN+ Monobutyl tin cation \(\mu\)g/kg 0.3000 0.2000
MPSN+ Monophenyl tin cation \(\mu\)g/kg 0.3000 0.2000
DBSN+ Dibutyl tin cation \(\mu\)g/kg 0.3000 0.2000
DPSN+ Diphenyl tin cation \(\mu\)g/kg 0.3000 0.2000
TBSN+ Tributyl tin cation \(\mu\)g/kg 0.3000 0.2000
TPSN+ Triphenyl tin cation \(\mu\)g/kg 0.3000 0.2000
PAH parent compounds NAP Naphthalene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.1667 0.2136
ACNLE Acenaphthylene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.1017 0.2432
ACNE Acenaphthene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0567 0.2467
FLE Fluorene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.1033 0.1852
PA Phenanthrene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.1321 0.1406
ANT Anthracene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0667 0.2143
DBT Dibenzothiophene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.1000 0.2354
FLU Fluoranthene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.1667 0.1006
PYR Pyrene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.1667 0.1067
BAA Benzo[a]anthracene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0933 0.1565
CHR Chrysene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0829 0.1258
BAP Benzo[a]pyrene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0533 0.1974
BEP Benzo[e]pyrene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.1667 0.1051
BBKF Benzo[b,k]fluoranthene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.1400 0.1354
DBAHA Dibenz[ah]anthracene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0450 0.1718
PER Perylene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.1500 0.2278
BGHIP Benzo[g,h,i]perylene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0567 0.1861
ICDP Indeno[123-cd]pyrene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0633 0.2251
PAH alkylated compounds NAPC1 C1 Naphthalenes \(\mu\)g/kg 0.3667 0.2188
NAPC2 C2 Naphthalenes \(\mu\)g/kg 0.1667 0.1207
NAPC3 C3 Naphthalenes \(\mu\)g/kg 0.1867 0.1348
NAPC4 C4 Naphthalenes \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0567 0.1195
PAC1 C1 Phenanthrenes \(\mu\)g/kg 0.1667 0.1826
PAC2 C2 Phenanthrenes \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0667 0.1530
PAC3 C3 Phenanthrenes \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0667 0.2279
DBTC1 C1 Dibenzothiophene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.2500 0.1049
DBTC2 C2 Dibenzothiophene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.3383 0.1073
DBTC3 C3 Dibenzothiophenes \(\mu\)g/kg 0.4850 0.1071
PAH metabolites NAP2OH 2-hydroxy naphthalene ng/ml 0.2750 0.2000
PA1OH 1-hydroxy phenanthrene ng/ml 0.2750 0.2500
PYR1OH 1-hydroxy pyrene ng/ml 0.2750 0.1500
PYR1OHEQ 1-hydroxy pyrene equivalent \(\mu\)g/ml 0.0000 0.2000
BAP3OH 3-hydroxy benzo(a)pyrene ng/ml 0.2750 0.2000
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers BDE28 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0020 0.2500
BDE47 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0035 0.1450
BDE66 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0015 0.2990
BDE85 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0018 0.2174
BDE99 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0031 0.1940
BD100 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0027 0.1938
BD126 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0031 0.1940
BD153 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0015 0.2500
BD154 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0020 0.2680
BD183 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0027 0.2897
BD209 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0333 0.2556
SBDE6 Sum of BDE 28, 47, 99, 100, 153, 154 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0105 0.1800
Organobromines (other) HBCD \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0167 0.2500
HBCDA alpha-HBCD \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0022 0.2500
HBCDB beta-HBCD \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0433 0.2500
HBCDG gamma-HBCD \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0233 0.3000
TBBPA Tetrabromobiphenol-A \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0667 0.2500
Organofluorines PFOA \(\mu\)g/kg 0.1042 0.1825
PFNA \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0750 0.2350
PFDA \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0367 0.2455
PFUNDA \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0700 0.2300
PFDOA \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0453 0.2400
PFTRDA \(\mu\)g/kg 0.1000 0.2600
PFTDA \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0847 0.3235
PFBS \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0333 0.3400
PFHXS \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0267 0.1274
PFOS \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0833 0.1878
PFOSA \(\mu\)g/kg 0.1717 0.1650
Polychlorinated biphenyls CB28 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0300 0.1600
CB52 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0333 0.1483
CB101 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0333 0.1250
CB105 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0054 0.1386
CB118 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0333 0.1300
CB126 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0000 0.1571
CB138 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0333 0.1285
CB153 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0333 0.1245
CB156 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0033 0.1400
CB169 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0001 0.1300
CB180 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0333 0.1500
SCB6 Sum of ICES 6 CBs \(\mu\)g/kg 0.2000 0.1250
SCB7 Sum of ICES 7 CBs \(\mu\)g/kg 0.2333 0.1250
Dioxins CDF2T \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0000 0.1500
CDD1N \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0000 0.1500
TCDD \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0000 0.1500
TEQDFP WHO-TEQ (DFP) TEQ \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0000 0.1375
Organochlorines (other) DDEPP DDE (p,p’) \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0167 0.1688
DDTOP DDT (o,p’) \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0067 0.2500
DDTPP DDT (p,p’) \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0133 0.2464
TDEPP TDE (p,p’) \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0067 0.1750
HCB Hexachlorobenzene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0117 0.2000
HCBD Hexachlorobutadiene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0226 0.1556
HCEPX Heptachlor epoxide \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0111 0.1650
HCHA alpha-HCH \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0035 0.2250
HCHB beta-HCH \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0067 0.2159
HCHG gamma-HCH \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0036 0.2276
HCH Sum of HCH A B G \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0133 0.2100
MCCP Medium chain chlorinated paraffin \(\mu\)g/kg 0.3333 0.1417
SCCP Short chain chlorinated paraffin \(\mu\)g/kg 0.3333 0.1408
ALD Aldrin \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0050 0.2500
DIELD Dieldrin \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0036 0.2000
END Endrin \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0172 0.1252
ISOD Isodrin \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0333 0.1651
OCDAN Oxychlordane \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0010 0.1320
Biological effects (other) ACHE nmol/min/mg protein 0.0000 0.4000
ALAD ng/min/mg protein 0.0000 0.4000
EROD pmol/min/mg protein 0.5055 0.0544
GST nmol/min/mg protein 0.0000 0.2000


  • DBSN+, MBSN+, TPSN+, DPSN+ and MPSN+: \(s\) and \(v\) were imputed from TBSN+
  • PA1OH, BAP3OH: \(s\) was imputed from PYR1OH (few limits of detection in the data base)
  • NAP2OH: \(s\) and \(v\) were imputed from BAP3OH (no uncertainties or limits of detection in the data base)
  • PYR1OHEQ: \(v\) was set to 0.2 (median value of the other metabolites) and \(s\) was set to 0 (no limits of detection)
  • BD126: \(s\) and \(v\) were imputed from BDE99
  • ACHE: \(v\) was set to 0.4 (median value) and \(s\) was set to 0 (no limits of detection)
  • ALAD: \(v\) was set to 0.4 (median value) and \(s\) was set to 0 (no limits of detection)
  • GST: \(v\) was set to 0.2 (median value) and \(s\) was set to 0 (no limits of detection)
  • Scope for Growth (not tabulated above): this is assessed on the untransformed scale (not the logarithmic scale) and \(s\) and \(v\) were set to 0.1 and 0


Sediment

group code name unit fixed sd relative sd
Metals AS Arsenic mg/kg 0.1000 0.1003
CD Cadmium mg/kg 0.0033 0.1101
CR Chromium mg/kg 0.2333 0.0876
CU Copper mg/kg 0.1092 0.0829
PB Lead mg/kg 0.3333 0.0883
HG Mercury mg/kg 0.0030 0.1003
NI Nickel mg/kg 0.1667 0.0747
ZN Zinc mg/kg 0.2500 0.0779
Organotins MBSN+ Monobutyl tin cation \(\mu\)g/kg 0.1167 0.2854
MPSN+ Monophenyl tin cation \(\mu\)g/kg 0.1167 0.2854
DBSN+ Dibutyl tin cation \(\mu\)g/kg 0.1333 0.3000
DPSN+ Diphenyl tin cation \(\mu\)g/kg 0.1333 0.3000
TBSN+ Tributyl tin cation \(\mu\)g/kg 0.3333 0.2545
TPSN+ Triphenyl tin cation \(\mu\)g/kg 0.3333 0.2545
PAH parent compounds NAP Naphthalene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.4867 0.1677
ACNLE Acenaphthylene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.3333 0.2748
ACNE Acenaphthene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.3333 0.1862
FLE Fluorene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.3367 0.2042
PA Phenanthrene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.4833 0.1309
ANT Anthracene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.2700 0.1772
DBT Dibenzothiophene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.1667 0.1024
FLU Fluoranthene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.3333 0.1000
PYR Pyrene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.3333 0.1000
BAA Benzo[a]anthracene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.3333 0.1304
CHR Chrysene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.3333 0.1369
BAP Benzo[a]pyrene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.3333 0.1630
BEP Benzo[e]pyrene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.4667 0.0811
BBKF Benzo[b,k]fluoranthene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.6667 0.1567
DBAHA Dibenz[ah]anthracene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.3333 0.2537
PER Perylene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.1383 0.1000
BGHIP Benzo[g,h,i]perylene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.3333 0.1500
ICDP Indeno[123-cd]pyrene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.3333 0.1192
PAH alkylated compounds NAPC1 C1 Naphthalenes \(\mu\)g/kg 0.4467 0.1435
NAPC2 C2 Naphthalenes \(\mu\)g/kg 0.5200 0.0732
NAPC3 C3 Naphthalenes \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0833 0.1070
NAPC4 C4 Naphthalenes \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0333 0.1084
PAC1 C1 Phenanthrenes \(\mu\)g/kg 0.3800 0.0675
PAC2 C2 Phenanthrenes \(\mu\)g/kg 0.1117 0.1017
PAC3 C3 Phenanthrenes \(\mu\)g/kg 0.7400 0.0835
DBTC1 C1 Dibenzothiophene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0667 0.0943
DBTC2 C2 Dibenzothiophene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.1283 0.1283
DBTC3 C3 Dibenzothiophenes \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0833 0.0917
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers BDE28 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0067 0.2269
BDE47 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0067 0.1798
BDE66 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0100 0.2310
BDE85 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0100 0.2400
BDE99 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0067 0.2560
BD100 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0067 0.2235
BD153 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0067 0.2171
BD154 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0067 0.2218
BD183 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0080 0.3074
BD209 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0333 0.2628
Organobromines (other) HBCD \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0353 0.3408
HBCDA alpha-HBCD \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0118 0.3279
HBCDB beta-HBCD \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0118 0.3950
HBCDG gamma-HBCD \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0118 0.3298
Polychlorinated biphenyls CB28 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0150 0.1691
CB52 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0300 0.1933
CB101 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0333 0.1503
CB105 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0163 0.1710
CB118 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0267 0.1650
CB138 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0333 0.1518
CB153 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0300 0.1470
CB156 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0033 0.1620
CB180 \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0333 0.1620
Dioxins CDF2T \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0001 0.1700
CDD1N \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0001 0.1700
TCDD \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0001 0.1700
TEQDFP WHO-TEQ (DFP) TEQ \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0000 0.1600
Organochlorines (other) DDEPP DDE (p,p’) \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0067 0.2600
DDTOP DDT (o,p’) \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0067 0.3036
DDTPP DDT (p,p’) \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0067 0.2600
TDEPP TDE (p,p’) \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0067 0.3000
HCB Hexachlorobenzene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0067 0.2876
HCBD Hexachlorobutadiene \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0067 0.4000
HCEPX Heptachlor epoxide \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0067 0.2876
HCHA alpha-HCH \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0067 0.2680
HCHB beta-HCH \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0083 0.2391
HCHG gamma-HCH \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0067 0.3000
ALD Aldrin \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0067 0.3000
DIELD Dieldrin \(\mu\)g/kg 0.0278 0.3606
Normalisers AL Aluminium % 0.0007 0.1256
LI Lithium mg/kg 0.0533 0.1466
CORG Organic Carbon % 0.0100 0.1000


  • MPSN+, DPSN+, TPSN+: \(s\) and \(v\) were imputed from MBSN+, DBSN+ and TBSN+ respectively
  • CB156: \(v\) was imputed from CB180
  • DDTPP: \(s\) and \(v\) were imputed from DDEPP
  • HCEPX: \(s\) and \(v\) were imputed from HCB


Water

group code name unit fixed sd relative sd
Metals CD Cadmium \(\mu\)g/l 0.0023 0.1219
CU Copper \(\mu\)g/l 0.0252 0.0720
PB Lead \(\mu\)g/l 0.0115 0.0922
NI Nickel \(\mu\)g/l 0.0122 0.0612
ZN Zinc \(\mu\)g/l 0.0287 0.0820
Organotins TBSN+ Tributyl tin cation ng/l 0.0550 0.1600
PAH parent compounds NAP Naphthalene ng/l 0.1611 0.1834
ACNLE Acenaphthylene ng/l 0.1167 0.1257
ACNE Acenaphthene ng/l 0.1528 0.1500
FLE Fluorene ng/l 0.1861 0.1332
PA Phenanthrene ng/l 0.2222 0.1095
ANT Anthracene ng/l 0.1444 0.1085
DBT Dibenzothiophene ng/l 0.0001 0.1920
FLU Fluoranthene ng/l 0.0889 0.1288
PYR Pyrene ng/l 0.1528 0.0996
BAA Benzo[a]anthracene ng/l 0.1570 0.1181
CHR Chrysene ng/l 0.1611 0.1384
BAP Benzo[a]pyrene ng/l 0.0667 0.1400
BEP Benzo[e]pyrene ng/l 0.0337 0.1420
BBKF Benzo[b,k]fluoranthene ng/l 0.4556 0.2694
DBAHA Dibenz[ah]anthracene ng/l 0.1778 0.1125
PER Perylene ng/l 0.0839 0.1475
BGHIP Benzo[g,h,i]perylene ng/l 0.0556 0.1150
ICDP Indeno[123-cd]pyrene ng/l 0.1000 0.1500
Organofluorines PFOS ng/l 0.0033 0.1727
Polychlorinated biphenyls CB28 ng/l 0.0000 0.1500
CB52 ng/l 0.0000 0.1495
CB101 ng/l 0.0000 0.1750
CB118 ng/l 0.0000 0.2000
CB138 ng/l 0.0000 0.1875
CB153 ng/l 0.0000 0.1875
CB180 ng/l 0.0000 0.2000
Organochlorines (other) DDEPP DDE (p,p’) ng/l 0.0000 0.1460
DDTOP DDT (o,p’) ng/l 0.0000 0.1585
DDTPP DDT (p,p’) ng/l 0.0000 0.0770
TDEPP TDE (p,p’) ng/l 0.0000 0.1785
HCB Hexachlorobenzene ng/l 0.0000 0.1375
HCBD Hexachlorobutadiene ng/l 0.0000 0.1375
HCEPX Heptachlor epoxide ng/l 0.0000 0.1375
HCHA alpha-HCH ng/l 0.0000 0.1445
HCHB beta-HCH ng/l 0.0000 0.1313
HCHG gamma-HCH ng/l 0.0000 0.1195
HCH Sum of HCH A B G ng/l 0.0000 0.1163
ALD Aldrin ng/l 0.0000 0.1457
DIELD Dieldrin ng/l 0.0000 0.1500
END Endrin ng/l 0.0000 0.1568
ISOD Isodrin ng/l 0.0000 0.2140
Pesticides ATRZ Atrazine ng/l 0.9767 0.1069
GLYPH Glyphosate ng/l 6.1667 0.2030
IMDCP Imidacloprid ng/l 0.0056 0.1500


  • Polychlorinated biphenyls: \(s\) was set to 0 (few analytical laboratories with widely varying limits of detection)
  • CB180: \(v\) was set to 0.2 (highest of the other polychlorinated biphenyls)
  • Organochlorines (other): \(s\) was set to 0 (few analytical laboratories with widely varying limits of detection)
  • HCBD, HCEPX: \(s\) and \(v\) was imputed from HCB