The decomposition of organic matter is a key microbiological function in soil. A soil is healthy when organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling are intact. Against this background, a laboratory-based method was developed for quantitative evaluation of microbial decomposition of organic matter in contaminated soil. This method is based on the quantification of the ability […]
Manure is widely used as a fertilizer and applied to agricultural land. It may contain highly active chemicals like veterinary medicinal products or biocides, which enter the environment by this pathway. This is recognized by several regulatory frameworks, however, a detailed method for examining the transformation of chemicals in manure was lacking. The present publication […]
Standard laboratory tests to evaluate the effects of stressors (in most cases chemicals) on soil organisms offer a good compromise between feasibility and outcome, i.e. they should be reproducible and provide robust results. However, these tests may underestimate potential effects of prolonged exposures, particularly for persistent contaminants. In the last years, there was an increase […]
The 4th Euro-Mediterranean Conference for Environmental Integration (EMCEI) takes place on 01-04 November 2022 in Sousse, Tunisia. Its main objective is to promote the exchange of scientific knowledge and to foster collaboration among Euro-Mediterranean communities. Jörg Römbke contributes with the following plenary presentation to the EMCEI conference: J. Römbke, R. Schmelz, A. Van der Veen, […]
On 30 June 2022, the OECD published test guideline No. 320: ‘Determining anaerobic transformation of chemicals in liquid manure’. This guideline describes a standardised method to investigate transformation of chemical substances in pig and cattle liquid manure under anaerobic conditions. The experiments are performed to determine the rate of transformation of the test substance, the […]
In persistence assessment, enhanced ready biodegradability tests (eRBT) are used to close the gap between screening tests and complex simulation tests. However, only few data from such tests are available, and neither guidance on the design and interpretation of eRBTs, nor suitable validity criteria have been established so far. In a practical testing programme, five […]
Organic matter decomposition is a key soil microbiological function. Intact organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling indicate that a soil is healthy. In view of these facts, a laboratory-based method has been developed to quantitatively evaluate this process. The ability of soil micro-organisms to decompose filter paper (lignin cellulosic material) as a standard organic material […]
The SETAC Europe 32nd annual meeting will take place in Copenhagen (Denmark) as physical conference with virtual components from 15 to 19 May 2022. Anja Coors is supporting the conference as member of the Scientific Committee, and ECT Oekotoxikologie will be represented by four people at the meeting. In addition to several platform and poster […]
ECT contributed to a recently published global reconnaissance of pharmaceutical pollution in rivers. Reaching out to colleagues globally and engaging them in a world-wide sampling campaign, the team around John Wilkinson and Alistair Boxall from the University of York measured the concentrations of 61 pharmaceuticals in 258 rivers, representing 1,052 locations in 104 countries across […]
PRORISK is a European Training Network funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. It creates a platform for training early-stage researchers in the field of advanced environmental risk assessment. Environmental risk assessment procedures are nowadays changing, incorporating for instance mechanistic, ecological, and socio-economic information. Consequently, risk assessments are becoming more comprehensive. […]