News - Soil Ecotoxicology

28. August 2026

Ecotox Centre at the Scientifica science festival

Ecotox Centre at the Scientifica science festival

Last weekend, Alexandra Kroll supported Empa and provided the public with information on PFAS and their impact on the environment.

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25. June 2026

Mixture toxicity assessment of pesticides in soils: new publication

Mixture toxicity assessment of pesticides in soils: new publication

Our new review article synthesises the scientific evidence for mixture toxicity in soils and identifies major data gaps and conceptual shortcomings in the current risk assessment practice in soil. It proposes an approach for the risk assessment of mixtures in soil that considers each individual trophic level separately.

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04. June 2026

Korean scientist visits

Korean scientist visits

Last week, we had the pleasure of welcoming Prof. Youn-Joo An from Konkuk University (Seoul, Korea) to the Ecotox Centre in Lausanne. The discussions were highly enriching, and we identified several promising avenues for future collaboration.

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26. May 2026

A look back at SETAC 2026 in Maastricht

A look back at SETAC 2026 in Maastricht

We are looking back to an exciting week at SETAC 2026 in Maastricht. It was a great place to share our latest findings with colleagues, discuss our work, and gain fresh inspiration through stimulating exchanges.

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19. May 2026

Swiss birds of prey widely contaminated with rodenticides

Swiss birds of prey widely contaminated with rodenticides

The Ecotox Centre has analysed Swiss birds of prey for residues of rodenticides. The results are worrying: 92% of the buzzards and kestrels examined were contaminated with these persistent substances. Whilst direct deaths from poisoning were rare, the high level of sublethal contamination raises questions about the long-term health of our native birds of prey.

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12. May 2026

How Dangerous Are Contaminated Military Sites?

How Dangerous Are Contaminated Military Sites?

Soils at contaminated military sites contain numerous chemicals of ecotoxicological concern. A case study shows that an assessment based solely on chemical analyses falls short and cannot adequately predict toxicity. Additional bioassays and bioavailability measurements are necessary to comprehensively assess soil quality.

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08. May 2026

Oekotoxzentrum in SRF Einstein on the risks of PFAS

Oekotoxzentrum in SRF Einstein on the risks of PFAS

Risk specialist Alexandra Kroll talks to Katrin Hönegger from SRF Einstein about the significance of current PFAS contamination and assesses the situation.

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22. April 2026

Course: One Health - Concept, case studies, challenges and implementation, 23. June 2026

Course: One Health - Concept, case studies, challenges and implementation, 23. June 2026

Together with the Swiss Centre for Applied Human Toxicology (SCAHT), we are organising the continuing education course "One Health – Concept, case studies, challenges and implementation". The course can also be attended online.

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08. January 2026

Safer receipts without bisphenols

Safer receipts without bisphenols

Researchers at EPFL have developed a new formula for thermal paper that is free of harmful bisphenols. According to toxicological studies conducted by the Ecotox Center, the wood-based substitutes used are significantly less problematic than traditional substances.

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13. November 2025

Monitoring concept for plant protection products in Swiss soils

Monitoring concept for plant protection products in Swiss soils

The Ecotox Centre is working with the National Soil Monitoring Programme (NABO) / Agroscope and EnviBioSoil on a concept for monitoring pesticide residues in Swiss agricultural soils. The project is part of the federal government's action plan for risk reduction and sustainable use of pesticides. Project manager and soil ecotoxicologist Mathieu Renaud reports on the progress made so far.

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