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Together with partners from Switzerland and the EU, the Ecotox Centre compares the prospective and retrospective risk assessment of pesticides and further develops assessment approaches and concepts. Further activities concern the assessment of substance mixtures and the monitoring of endocrine disruptors and perfluorinated chemicals in the environment.

Pyrethroid and organophosphate insecticides were detected in small streams at all 17 sampling sites that were investigated during the 2019 NAWA monitoring campaign. Although the measured concentrations were mostly low, they pose a significant risk to aquatic organisms.

By measuring gene expression, effects can be detected that do not directly lead to death , but can trigger an effect-specific stress response and thus cause long-term damage to the organism.