Invertebrates in risk assessment development of a test battery and of short term biotests for ecological risk assessment of soil

In general, all biotests used in the ring test are applicable for risk assessment of field soil and contaminated or remediated soil material. Of these, the most sensitive tests were selected as a integral part of the test battery [4]. This selection did not consider either the duration of the tests, which is crucial for the acceptance of tests by the remediation industry, and the effects of pollutants on biomarkers, which indicate the departure of an organism from its normal biochemical or physiological status. Therefore, the proposed test battery has to be supplemented with biotests of short duration. The best choice for a short test using the endpoint reproduction is the biotest withCaenorhabditis elegans which characterises the habitat function of soil. The appropriate screening test for the retention function is the ETr (electron transfer) inhibition test with submitochondrial particles, which provides reliable results in less than 15 min. For screening the habitat function, avoidance tests with soil invertebrates like annelids or enchytraeids are optimal, as both annelids are exposed to the bioavailable pollutants in the soil pore water. The effect of environmental chemicals at the individual level and below can be analysed with the Celegans ToxChip, which gives information of the status of biomarkers on the molecular and biochemical level. Preliminary SOPs for these biotests are formulated. They have still to be evaluated by international ring tests.