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ECT at the SETAC Europe 29th Annual Meeting

ECT is contributing to the SETAC Europe 29th Annual Meeting ‘One environment. One health. Sustainable societies’ that takes place in Helsinki, Finland, from May 26th to 30th, 2019. It addition to the presentations and activities indicated below, ECT presents its work at booth number 29.

New publication: Compartment‐specific screening tools for persistence – potential role and application in the regulatory context

The persistence assessment under REACH relies on compartment‐specific degradation half‐lives derived from laboratory simulation studies with surface water, aquatic sediment or soil. Although these data are given priority, they are not available for most of the compounds. Therefore, according to the integrated assessment and testing strategy for persistence assessment, results from ready biodegradability tests are […]

Conference ‘New approaches for prioritisation and assessment of the risks of pharmaceuticals in the environment’

The two-day international conference ‘New approaches for prioritisation and assessment of the risks of pharmaceuticals in the environment’ will mark the end of the IMI-funded project ‘Intelligence-led assessment of pharmaceuticals in the environment’ (iPiE). The conference will take place on 24-25 June 2019 at the University of York (UK). It will provide an overview on […]

Presentation of the iPiE project at the SETAC Europe meeting

The project Intelligence-led assessment of pharmaceuticals in the environment (iPiE) will be presented at the SETAC Europe Annual Meeting in Helsinki, at a symposium organised by the SETAC Europe Pharmaceutical Interest Group. The symposium will take place on Sunday, 26 May 2019 (13:00 – 17:30). Its aim is to present the iPiE project in detail […]

Further development of toxicity tests with soil organisms – protection of biodiversity in soils

The project objective was to identify and quantify uncertainties that occur in the environmental risk assessment (ERA) of pesticides, specifically for the soil compartment. The project was based on the assessment that the general approach of employing surrogate species and experimental setups to assess the effects of pesticides has certain shortcomings that affect the outcome […]

Development and standardisation of an ecotoxicity test with fungus gnat larvae for the risk assessment of genetically modified plants

According to EU Directive 2001/18/EC, genetically modified organisms (GMO) must be assessed for potential risks to human health, animal and plant life, nature, and the environment prior to experimental release or market authorization. The concepts and methods used for this purpose must correspond to the state of the science and technology and consider the specific issues and characteristics of the testing of GMO […]

New publication: Impact of an immunosuppressive human pharmaceutical on the interaction of a bacterial parasite and its invertebrate host

The interaction of pollutants and pathogens may result in altered (often enhanced) effects of the chemical, the biotic stressor or both. While standardised detection methods for immunotoxic effects of chemicals exist with regard to human health, such test systems are lacking for invertebrate species and no guidance is available on how immunotoxic effects of a […]

Further development of simple test systems for the evaluation of potential PBT substances: How to bridge the gap between screening tests and complex studies?

The first aim of the project was to assess whether the existing OECD test guidelines for ready biodegradability of chemicals (OECD test guidelines 301 A–D and 310) can be harmonized. The gained insights were discussed at an international expert workshop in April 2019. Laboratory experiments were performed for five test substances to verify the impact […]