Phase 2 - The goal of the analysis phase is to provide the ingredients necessary for determining or predicting ecological responses to stressors under exposure conditions of interest.

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Analysis is the determination of what plants and animals are exposed and to what degree they are exposed and if that level of exposure is likely or not to cause harmful ecological effects. Calculations used may include:

• hazard quotients (e.g., the ratio of chemical contaminant concentration to a selected screening benchmark) to quantify risk; and
• various parameters to determine the levels of exposure to a stressor (e.g., chemical contaminant) by a selected plant or animal (receptor), such as:
  • Area use: the proportion of the site that is in the area an animal typically uses during normal activities (home range); OR the proportion of an animal’s home range that is within a site;
  • Food ingestion rate: how much food is consumed by an animal over a specific period of time (typically, one day);
  • Bioaccumulation rates: the process by which chemicals are taken up by a plant or animal either directly from exposure to a contaminated medium (soil, sediment, water) or by eating food containing the chemical;
  • Bioavailability: how easily a plant or animal can take up a particular contaminant from the environment;
  • Life stage: juvenile, adult, etc.

Next Step is Phase 3