Alternator Testing

Controversy over test methodology, and concern with the welfare of test animals, has been highly pubhci2ed in the last decade, and various states have proposed legislation to ban animal tests. Significant effort has been devoted to developing nonanimal alternative tests and predictive methods. Progress has been made, but no entirely satisfactory substitute has been found to date (142). 

An alternate test for antistatic performance is the charge-decay test, in which the time of charge-decay is measured after 5 kV have been applied to the specimen (FederalTest Method lOlC, Method 4046.1). For many purposes, a charge-decay time of 0.5 s to 500 W, measured at the RH in end use, indicates good antistatic performance. 

Standard test methods for oil and grease may not be available, and alternative tests may not be particularly accurate. Nevertheless, any positive oil and grease test result is potentially troublesome and should be investigated. 

Alternative tests can be divided into two categories in vitro and in silico. In vitro methods refer to the fact that experiments are done in a tube, generally. In silico methods refer to the use of the computer to model a certain property of interest. Below, we will analyze these two categories, and which criteria can be used to choose a suitable methodology. 

Alternative tests will have to be validated scientifically and established as acceptable by industry and the regulators before being used for registration. The EU body which undertakes this validation process is the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM), and the US equivalent is the Interagency Co-ordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM). 

Perhaps one of the biggest issues in developing alternative test strategies is the validation of the test methods. One reason that this topic has become controversial is... 

Amended testing involves adding nutrients to flasks of native soil and groundwater, and proceeding in the same manner as the previous task descriptions. If several nutrient ranges are tested, the optimum concentration of nutrients can be determined. After evaluation of several test sets, the relative concentrations of nutrients and pH can also be determined. Alternative testing may include addition of specialized microbes to evaluate their performance. 

Nicklasson M, Langenbucher F. Description and evaluation of the flow cell dissolution apparatus as an alternative test method for drug release. Pharm Forum 1990 16(3) 532-537. 

J. H. Fentem and P. A. Botham. Update on the validation and regulatory acceptance of alternative tests for skin corrosion and irritation. Altem. Lab. Anim. 32 683-688 (2004). 

Phosphorus is a common component of additives and appears most commonly as a zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate or triaryl phosphate ester, but other forms also occur. Two wet chemical methods are available, one of which (ASTM D1091) describes an oxidation procedure that converts phosphorus to aqueous orthophosphate anion. This is then determined by mass as magnesium pyrophosphate or photochemically as molybdivanadophosphoric acid. In an alternative test (ASTM D4047), samples are oxidized to phosphate with zinc oxide, dissolved in acid, precipitated as quinoline phosphomolybdate, treated with excess standard alkali, and back-titrated with standard acid. Both of these methods are used primarily for referee samples. Phosphorus is most commonly determined using x-ray fluorescence (ASTM D4927) or ICP (ASTM D4951). 

Hammond D, Fong GT, Cummings KM, O Connor RJ, Giovino GA, McNeill A (2006) Cigarette yields and human exposure a comparison of alternative testing regimens. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 15 1495-1501... 

Pumps shall be tested as eomplete assemblies. Tests using only bowls and impellers are not reeommended. In cases where assembled unit testing is impractical, the vendor shall snbmit alternative testing procedures with the proposal. Suction cans, if supplied, are not required for performance testing. 

Steps an individual permit holder must take to use an alternate test procedure for regulatory reporting of specific discharges follow. An alternate test procedure differs from those published in the Federal Register for NPDES-certification purposes (Source Federal Register, Title 40, Chapter 1, Subchapter D, Part 136 Vol. 38, No. 199, Oct. 16, 1973 Vol. 41, No. 232, Dec. 1, 1976). Many Hach methods (Hach Company, Loveland, CO, USA) are identical to these published methods and thus are approved by USEPA and highly recommended by the authors for rapid field testing of effluent samples. 

ICCVAM has evaluated alternative test methods for acute oral toxicity, genetic toxicity, biologies, immunotoxicity, dermal corrosion and irritation, ocular toxicity, developmental toxicity, pyrogeni-city, and endocrine disrupter effects (ICCVAM 2007). As examples, alternative test systems for dermal corrosion and irritation are described in the following text. 

The duties of ECVAM are to coordinate the validation of alternative test methods at the EU level, to act as a focal point for the exchange of information on the development of alternative test methods, to set up, maintain, and manage a database on alternative procedures, and to promote dialogue between legislators, industries, biomedical scientists, consumer organizations, and animal welfare groups, with a view to the development, validation, and international recognition of alternative test methods. 

ECVAM has validated alternative test methods for acute oral toxicity, biologies, immunotoxicity, dermal corrosion and irritation, developmental toxicity, and pyrogenicity (ECVAM 2007). 

Parchment, R.E. (1998) Alternative testing systems for evaluating noncarcinogenic, hematologic toxicity. Environmental Health Perspectives, 106 (Suppl. 2), 541-547. 

Less complex test systems, including nonmammalian and in vitro cultures, are recommended only for pre-screening or secondary studies to elucidate mechanisms. A useful statement for use with lACUC committees comes from this section, as follows In short, there are no alternative test systems to whole animals currently available for reproduction toxicity testing with the aims set out in the introduction. ... 

Van Dartel DAM, Piersma AH (2011) The embryonic stem cell test combined with toxi-cogenomics as an alternative testing model for the assessment of developmental toxicity. Reprod Toxicol 32 235-244... 

The embryonic stem cell test is an animal-free alternative test method for developmental toxicity. Mouse embryonic stem cells are cultured in a hanging drop method to form embryoid bodies. These embryoid bodies, when plated on tissue culture dishes, differentiate to form contracting myocardial cell foci within 10 days. Inhibition of cardiomyocyte differentiation by test compounds serves as the end point of the assay, as monitored by cormting contracting muscle foci under the microscope. 

Key words Embryonic stem cell test. Embryonic stem cells. Alternative test method, Cardiomyocyte differentiation. Developmental toxicity... 

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