Ecotoxicology, toxicity tests

Cairns, J.,Jr. Myths impeding the utilization of infusoria in ecotoxicological toxicity testing / Infusoria in bioassays, Saint Petersburg, 1998.PP.11-21. 

EinaHy, the ecotoxicological studies, designed to assess the impact of the substance on the environment, embrace acute toxicity tests to fish and Daphnia, and a battery of tests for the biodegradabiUty of the substance and its biological oxygen demand characteristics. 

Van Beelen, P. Doehnann, P. Significance and apphcation of microbial toxicity tests in assessing ecotoxicological risks of contaminants in soil and sediment. Chemosphere 1997, 34, 455-499. 

Persoone, G. Janssen, C.R. Freshwater invertebrate toxicity tests. In Handbook of Ecotoxicology Calow, P., Ed. Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1994 Vol. 1, Chap. 4, 51-65. 

Kusui, T. Blaise, C. Ecotoxicological assessment of Japanese industrial effluents using a battery of small-scale toxicity tests. In Impact Assessment of Hazardous Aquatic Contaminants Concept and Approaches, Salem, R., Ed. Ann Arbor Press Michigan, USA, 1998 161-181. 

For specific situations, a full ecotoxicological risk assessment could be performed for disposal of dredged harbour sediments. For example, when there are indications for the need for additional toxicity testing or when the outcome of the basic testing (Box A) is not sufficiently... 

One of the early definitions of ecotoxicology was the testing of more than one organism in a toxicity test at one time (modified from [4]) however, this refers to toxicity in... 

Laboratory toxicity tests have been developed and conducted over the past decades to demonstrate adverse effects that chemicals can have on biological systems. Along with other complementary tools of ecotoxicology available to measure (potential or real) effects on aquatic biota (e.g., microcosm, mesocosm and field study approaches with assessment of a variety of structural and/or functional parameters), they have been, and continue to be, useful to indicate exposure-effect relationships of toxicants under defined, controlled and reproducible conditions (Adams, 2003). 

Small-scale freshwater toxicity testing is but a modest fraction of a diverse array of scientific activities connected to the field of ecotoxicology. Yet, within this still emerging discipline, few will argue the fact that tools and approaches developed to measure the undesirable effects that countless chemicals (alone or in mixtures) and complex (liquid and solid) media can exert on biota have markedly contributed to aquatic ecosystem preservation. Indeed, the breadth and scope of application of bioassays thus far directed toward obtaining relevant information aimed at problemsolving and prevention of contaminant-based issues has progressed well. 

Juvonen, R., Martikainen, E., Schultz, E., Joutti, A., Ahtiainen, J. and Lehtokari, M. (2000) A battery of toxicity tests as indicators of decontamination in composting oily waste, Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 47 (2), 156-166. 

Ross, P. (1993) The use of bacterial luminescence systems in aquatic toxicity testing, in M. Richardson (ed.), Ecotoxicology Monitoring, VCH Publishers, Weinheim, Germany, pp. 185-195. 

Sae-Ma, B., Meier, P.G. and Landrum, P.F. (1998) Effect of extended storage time on the toxicity of sediment-associated cadmium on midge larvae Chironomus tentans), Ecotoxicology 7 (3), 133-139. Sakai, M. (2001) Chronic toxicity tests with Daphnia magna for examination of river water quality,... 

As seen further on in this chapter, individual PEEP index values express a condensed portrait of an effluent s hazard potential which takes into account several important ecotoxicological notions (toxic intensity and scope in terms of biotic levels impacted, bioavailability, persistence of toxicity and effluent flow). Unlike wastewater investigations limited to chemical characterization, this bioassay-based scale reflects the integrated responses of several representative toxicity tests to all interaction phenomena (antagonistic, additive and/or synergistic effects) that can be present in effluent samples. 

The battery of test approach for toxicity testing is now a universally-accepted concept. It has recently been applied in Latin American countries and is presently recognized as a critical tool for the assessment of complex mixtures. Interpretation of hazard by reducing complex ecotoxicological data into a single numerical value (e.g., PEEP index) is generally favoured by decision-makers involved in various facets of environmental regulation. 

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