Environmental Testing

Abstract

Environmental toxicology is a term that conveys different images to different people. In its broadest sense environmental toxicology encompasses all of the research necessary to evaluate the potential ecological effects, to determine the ultimate fate in the environment, and to identify critical pathways to man that might occur as the result of release of a particular material (Table 1). Evaluation of the potential toxicity of the material can be accomplished through three types of testing: short-term bioassays (environmental screening); subacute organismic, population, community, and ecosystem evaluation; and mechanistic studies. The latter two types are resource intense in that they generally require substantial manpower and time commitments. However, they are also essential for develo** predictive capabilities regarding the potential for long-term chronic environmental effects resulting from the release of a complex effluent stream. Environmental screening, on the other hand, requires less manpower with results often obtained in less than a week’s time.