Lexikon

in Annexes VII and VIII to Directive 79/831/EEC, methods for the determination of the ecotoxicity of chemical substances are enlisted. The methods are based on those recognized and recommended by competent international bodies (in particular OECD).

General introduction
1 acute toxicity for fish
2 acute toxicity for Daphnia
3 algal inhibition test
4 biodegradation: determination of the "ready" biodegradability
  4-a dissolved organic carbon (doc) die-away test
  4-b modified oecd screening test
  4-c carbon dioxide evolution test
  4-d manometric respirometry test
  4-e closed bottle test
  4-f miti test
5 degradation : biochemical oxygen demand
6 degradation: chemical oxygen demand
7 degradation: abiotic degradation: hydrolysis as a function of ph
8 toxicity for earthworms : artificial soil test
9 biodegradation: Zahn−Wellens test
10 biodegradation: activated sludge simulation test
11 biodegradation: activated sludge respiration inhibition test
12 biodegradation: modified scas test
13 bioconcentration: flow-through fish test
14 fish juvenile growth test
15 fish, short-term toxicity test on embryo and sac-fry stages
16 honeybees, acute oral toxicity test
17 honeybees, acute contact toxicity test
18 adsorption/desorption using a batch equilibrium method
19 estimation of the adsorption coefficient (koc) on soil and on sewage sludge using high performance liquid chromatography (hplc)
20 Daphnia magna reproduction test
21 soil microorganisms: nitrogen transformation test
22 soil microorganisms: carbon transformation test
23 aerobic and anaerobic transformation in soil
24 aerobic and anaerobic transformation in aquatic sediment systems

in Annexes VII and VIII to Directive 79/831/EEC, methods for the determination of the toxicity of chemical substances are enlisted. The methods are based on those recognized and recommended by competent international bodies (in particular OECD).

1 general introduction
1bis acute oral toxicity - fixed dose procedure
1tris acute oral toxicity - acute toxic class method
2 acute toxicity (inhalation)
3 acute toxicity (dermal)
4 acute toxicity: dermal irritation/corrosion
5 acute toxicity: eye irritation/corrosion
6 skin sensitisation
7 repeated dose (28 days) toxicity (oral)
8 repeated dose (28 days) toxicity (inhalation)
9 repeated dose (28 days) toxicity (dermal)
10 mutagenicity − in vitro mammalian chromosome aberration test)
11 mutagenicity − in vivo mammalian bone-marrow chromosome aberration test
12 mutagenicity mammalian erythrocyte micronucleus test
13/14 mutagenicity − reverse mutation test using bacteria
15 gene mutation − Saccharomyces cerevisae
16 mitotic recombination − Saccharomyces cerevisae
17 mutagenicity − in vitro mammalian cell gene mutation test
18 dna damage and repair − unscheduled dna synthesis − mammalian cells in vitro
19 sister chromatid exchange assay in vitro
20 sex-linked recessive lethal test in Drosophila melanogaster
21 in vitro mammalian cell transformation test
22 rodent dominant lethal test
23 mammalian spermatogonial chromosome aberration test
24 mouse spot test
25 mouse heritable translocation
26 sub-chronic oral toxicity test. Repeated dose 90-day toxicity study in rodents
27 sub-chronic oral toxicity test: repeated dose 90-day toxicity study in non-rodents
28 sub-chronic dermal toxicity test: 90-day repeated dermal dose study using rodent species
29 sub-chronic inhalation toxicity test: 90-day repeated inhalation dose study using rodent species
30 chronic toxicity test
31 teratogenicity test rodent and non-rodent
32 carcinogenicity test
33 combined chronic toxicity/carcinogenicity test
34 one-generation reproduction toxicity test
35 two generation reproduction toxicity test
36 toxicokinetics
37 delayed neurotoxicity of organophosphorus substances following acute exposure
38 delayed neurotoxicity of organophosphorus substances 28 day repeated dose study
39 unscheduled dna synthesis (uds) test with mammalian liver cells in vivo
40 skin corrosion (in vitro)
41 phototoxicity − in vitro 3t3 nru phototoxicity test
42 skin sensitisation: local lymph node assay
43 neurotoxicity study in rodents

highly toxic substances are defined by U.S. OSHA as the following:

1. A chemical substance that has a median lethal dose (LD₅₀) of 50 milligrams or less per kilogram of body weight when administered orally to albino rats weighing between 200 and 300 grams each.
2. A chemical substance that has a median lethal dose (LD₅₀) of 200 milligrams or less per kilogram of body weight when administered by continuous contact for 24 hours (or less if death occurs within 24 hours) with the bare skin of albino rabbits weighing between two and three kilograms each.
3. A chemical substance that has a median lethal concentration (LC₅₀) in air of 200 parts per million by volume or less of gas or vapor, or 2 milligrams per liter or less of mist, fume, or dust, when administered by continuous inhalation for one hour (or less if death occurs within one hour) to albino rats weighing between 200 and 300 grams each.

In case of the use of highly toxic substances, standard operating procedures (SOP's) for working with each highly toxic material is obligatory! This written procedure must include knowing the physical properties of the material as well as symptoms of exposure and first aid procedures. Never work with highly toxic materials while alone!

toxic substances are those natural or man-made chemical substances, which are toxic for living organisms, including members of the ecosystem and humans.

Toxic substances can be inroganis or organic substances. Inorganic ones are mainly toxic metals, like arsenic, cadmium, lead, copper, chromium, nikkel, zinc, and their compounds.

Organic toxic substances are of natural origin or man-made ones (xenobiotica). The natural toxic substances maybe bacterial toxins, toxins or drugs of fungal, plant, insect or other animal origin. Other part of the toxic substances are designed and produced for the purpose of killing or inhibiting organisms or groups of organisms. These are desinficients, antimicrobial agents, antibiotics, pesticides, biological weapons, etc. These man-made toxic substances may effect not only the target group of organisms with their primary effect, but by discharging them into the environment any other organism, including man is endangered by mutagenic or reprotoxic effects, by immun- and endocrine disrupting effect, or sensitizing effects. The users of the environment, including man, cannot efficiently prevent themselves from these adverse effects, because we often do not know about the presence of these substances in the environment, we cannot predict their interaction with other substances or environmental compounds, and we do not know their long term effects.

See also toxic effect, toxicity, toxic metals, toxicity tests