News

ECT at the SETAC Latin America 12th Biennial Meeting

The 12th Biennial Meeting of SETAC Latin America (‘Bridging the gap between science and governance’) takes place in Santos, São Paulo, Brazil, from 7 to 10 September 2017. ECT is contributing with the following two platform presentations: J. Römbke, J. Bernard: The TRIAD – a new ISO standard for retrospective risk assessment in soil (ISO […]

Rewetted degraded fen peatland site

New publication: Dissipation of micropollutants in a rewetted fen peatland – a field study using treated wastewater

A mixture of treated wastewater and surface water was used to rewet a degraded fen peatland site during a three-year rewetting experiment. Behaviour and effects of micropollutants were studied using hydrological, physico-chemical, microbiological and ecotoxicological monitoring. The highest concentrations of micropollutants in the treated wastewater were found for the pharmaceuticals carbamazepine and diclofenac, some metabolites, […]

Review of the ecotoxicity of boric acid in standard laboratory tests with plants and soil organisms

To verify the sensitivity of ecotoxicological tests, reference substances with known toxicity are regularly tested. Ideally, such substances lack specificity in their mode action, are bioavailable and readily attainable, and their chemical characterisation is cost-effective. Boric acid satisfies these criteria, but has – due to reproductive effects in humans – most recently been characterised as […]

Review of the effects of organic pesticides on enchytraeids (Oligochaeta) in agroecosystems – laboratory and higher-tier tests

Enchytraeids (Oligochaeta, Annelida) are regularly found in agroecosystems of the temperate regions of the world. Although less known than their larger relatives, the earthworms, these saprophagous organisms play similar roles in agricultural soils influencing soil structure and organic matter dynamics and having a central place in soil food webs. Due to difficulties in distinguishing the […]