Development of ecotoxicological tests with biocides and eluates: verification of the suitability of the embryo test with the zebrafish (Danio rerio, DarT)

The project explored the suitability of the fish embryo toxicity test with the zebrafish, Danio rerio, (DarT) as a tool to screen for additive and non-additive effects among biocidal substances. Five biocidal products from the product type 8 (curative and preventive wood preservatives) and their individual active substances were tested in the DarT. Overall, the results provided clear evidence that the DarT can be used to verify if the toxicity of formulated biocidal products can reliably be predicted by the concept of concentration addition. This may open the possibility to replace vertebrate (adult or juvenile fish) testing by mixture toxicity predictions in justified cases.