Ecotoxicological assays with soil organisms

Benefit description

Toxicity tests will be performed following the OCDE guidelines. - Plants: Seedling emergence and growth (fresh and dry weight). OECD No. 208 - Terrestrial invertebrates: survival and growth (fresh weight) OECD No. 207 - Microorganisms. Carbon transformation OECD Test No. 217 A natural soil with the characteristics needed to achieve a high availability of pollutants (sand> 70%; pH = 6.5-7.5; organic carbon content 0.5-1.5%) will be used. Plant tests can be also be carried out in sand. The plant and earthworm tests can be conducted: i) at a single concentration of the contaminant as a limit test for toxicity, ii) at five concentrations to obtain a dose-response curve and iii) pre-testing to determine the range of concentrations for toxicity, followed by of the dose-response test to determine the toxicity parameters of the contaminant. In the second and third cases ECx, NOEC, or LOEC will be reported.