Test Batteries for the Assessment of the Ecotoxic Potential of Soils and Soil Materials

Abstract

Environmental risk assessment for contaminated sites and soil materials is often restricted to chemical analyses. Soil and soil materials (e.g. excavated and remediated soils, refills, embankments) are accepted to be clean if pollutant concentrations do not exceed the utilization limits. Ecotoxicological tests are valuable complements to chemical analysis. They provide information on the effects of all pollutants in soils which chemical analysis does not because the bioavailability of pollutants can vary considerably depending on the chemical species and the environmental conditions. Moreover, biotests integrate combination effects of pollutants and effects of chemicals and metabolites which were not detected in routine analysis.