Subject Areas

Bioassays are used to determine how pollutants affect soil organisms and soil health.

Sediments serve as a habitat for many organisms as well as a long-term source of pollutants.

Using ecotoxicological data the pollutant concentration can be determined above which toxic effects on organisms cannot be excluded.

The assessment of water quality based on bioassays is beneficial due to several reasons.

The increased detection of micropollutants challenges water protection authorities.

Chemical substances acting as hormones disrupt the sensitive balance in ecosystems.

Complex chemical cocktails in the environment lead to combined effetcs of the individual substances.