Articles

Value of information analysis for assessing risks and benefits of nanotechnology innovation

Decisions on adoption of technological innovation are difficult for manufacturers, especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) who have limited resources but often drive product development. Decision an...

Authors: Alex Zabeo, Jeffrey M. Keisler, Danail Hristozov, Antonio Marcomini and Igor Linkov

Effect-based methods are key. The European Collaborative Project SOLUTIONS recommends integrating effect-based methods for diagnosis and monitoring of water quality

The present monitoring and assessment of the chemical status of water bodies fail to characterize the likelihood that complex mixtures of chemicals affect water quality. The European Collaborative Project SOLU...

Authors: Werner Brack, Selim Ait Aissa, Thomas Backhaus, Valeria Dulio, Beate I. Escher, Michael Faust, Klara Hilscherova, Juliane Hollender, Henner Hollert, Christin Müller, John Munthe, Leo Posthuma, Thomas-Benjamin Seiler, Jaroslav Slobodnik, Ivana Teodorovic, Andrew J. Tindall…

Celebrating 20 years of SETAC German Language Branch (GLB)

This editorial presents the objectives and achievements of the German Language Branch of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Europe (SETAC GLB), a regional branch of SETAC Europe, of the last...

Authors: Jochen P. Zubrod, Rolf-Alexander Düring, Klaus P. Ebke, Dominic Englert, Tobias Frische, Bettina Hitzfeld, Marion Junghans, Dominic Kaiser, Anja Kehrer, Silvio Knaebe, Nadine Ruchter and Henner Hollert

Toxicity and neurotoxicity profiling of contaminated sediments from Gulf of Bothnia (Sweden): a multi-endpoint assay with Zebrafish embryos

The toxicological characterization of sediments is an essential task to monitor the quality of aquatic environments. Many hazardous pollutants may accumulate in sediments and pose a risk to the aquatic communi...

Authors: Riccardo Massei, Henner Hollert, Martin Krauss, Wolf von Tümpling, Cindy Weidauer, Peter Haglund, Eberhard Küster, Christine Gallampois, Mats Tysklind and Werner Brack

Detection of chemically induced ecotoxicological effects in rivers of the Nidda catchment (Hessen, Germany) and development of an ecotoxicological, Water Framework Directive–compliant assessment system

Approximately 90% of German surface waters do not meet the objectives of the European Water Framework Directive (EU-WFD). This is primarily due to deficits in water body structure and biological quality compon...

Authors: Denise J. Brettschneider, Andrea Misovic, Ulrike Schulte-Oehlmann, Matthias Oetken and Jörg Oehlmann

Novel brominated flame retardants in house dust from Shanghai, China: levels, temporal variation, and human exposure

Novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs) have been increasingly used as alternatives to legacy BFRs (e.g., PBDEs and HBCDs) in consumer products, but are liable to emigrate and contaminate indoor dust. In thi...

Authors: Dong Niu, Yanling Qiu, Xinyu Du, Li Li, Yihui Zhou, Daqiang Yin, Zhifen Lin, Ling Chen, Zhiliang Zhu, Jianfu Zhao and Åke Bergman

Testing effects of pesticides on macroinvertebrate communities in outdoor stream mesocosms using carbaryl as example test item

In mesocosms, the fate and effects of chemicals can be investigated under more realistic conditions than in laboratory-scale experiments and most mesocosm studies for higher-tier risk assessment are conducted ...

Authors: Liesa-Kristin Beuter, László Dören, Udo Hommen, Matthias Kotthoff, Christoph Schäfers and Klaus Peter Ebke

Pesticides diazinon and diuron increase glutathione levels and affect multixenobiotic resistance activity and biomarker responses in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos and larvae

Zebrafish have been increasingly used for monitoring and assessing the effects of different contaminants in the aquatic environments. In the present study, zebrafish embryos and larvae were used to study the e...

Authors: Mirna Velki, Carina Lackmann, Alejandro Barranco, Amaia Ereño Artabe, Sandra Rainieri, Henner Hollert and Thomas-Benjamin Seiler

How did the US EPA and IARC reach diametrically opposed conclusions on the genotoxicity of glyphosate-based herbicides?

The US EPA considers glyphosate as “not likely to be carcinogenic to humans.” The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A).” E...

Authors: Charles M. Benbrook

Some food for thought: a short comment on Charles Benbrook´s paper “How did the US EPA and IARC reach diametrically opposed conclusions on the genotoxicity of glyphosate-based herbicides?” and its implications

Authors: Henner Hollert and Thomas Backhaus

A comparison of log K_ow (n-octanol–water partition coefficient) values for non-ionic, anionic, cationic and amphoteric surfactants determined using predictions and experimental methods

Surfactants are widely used across the globe both in industrial and consumer products. The n-octanol/water partition ratio or coefficient (log K_ow) and n-octanol/water distribution coefficient (log D) are key par...

Authors: Geoff Hodges, Charles Eadsforth, Bart Bossuyt, Alain Bouvy, Marie-Helene Enrici, Marc Geurts, Matthias Kotthoff, Eleanor Michie, Dennis Miller, Josef Müller, Gunter Oetter, Jayne Roberts, Diederik Schowanek, Ping Sun and Joachim Venzmer

Modelling spatial patterns of correlations between concentrations of heavy metals in mosses and atmospheric deposition in 2010 across Europe

This paper aims to investigate the correlations between the concentrations of nine heavy metals in moss and atmospheric deposition within ecological land classes covering Europe. Additionally, it is examined t...

Authors: Stefan Nickel, Winfried Schröder, Roman Schmalfuss, Maike Saathoff, Harry Harmens, Gina Mills, Marina V. Frontasyeva, Lambe Barandovski, Oleg Blum, Alejo Carballeira, Ludwig de Temmerman, Anatoly M. Dunaev, Antoaneta Ene, Hilde Fagerli, Barbara Godzik, Ilia Ilyin…

European Court of Justice ruling regarding new genetic engineering methods scientifically justified: a commentary on the biased reporting about the recent ruling

In July 2018, the European Court of Justice (Case C-528/16) ruled that organisms obtained by directed mutagenesis techniques are to be regarded as genetically modified organisms (GMOs) within the meaning of Di...

Authors: Eva Gelinsky and Angelika Hilbeck

A unified approach for including non-extractable residues (NER) of chemicals and pesticides in the assessment of persistence

All chemicals form non-extractable residues (NER) to various extents in environmental media like soil, sediment, plants and animals. NER can be quantified in environmental fate studies using isotope-labeled (s...

Authors: Andreas Schäffer, Matthias Kästner and Stefan Trapp

An ecotoxicological view on neurotoxicity assessment

The numbers of potential neurotoxicants in the environment are raising and pose a great risk for humans and the environment. Currently neurotoxicity assessment is mostly performed to predict and prevent harm t...

Authors: J. B. Legradi, C. Di Paolo, M. H. S. Kraak, H. G. van der Geest, E. L. Schymanski, A. J. Williams, M. M. L. Dingemans, R. Massei, W. Brack, X. Cousin, M.-L. Begout, R. van der Oost, A. Carion, V. Suarez-Ulloa, F. Silvestre, B. I. Escher…

The CPCAT as a novel tool to overcome the shortcomings of NOEC/LOEC statistics in ecotoxicology: a simulation study to evaluate the statistical power

Species reproduction is an important determinant of population dynamics. As such, this is an important parameter in environmental risk assessment. The closure principle computational approach test (CPCAT) was ...

Authors: René Lehmann, Jean Bachmann, Bilgin Karaoglan, Jens Lacker, Glenn Lurman, Christian Polleichtner, Hans Toni Ratte and Monika Ratte

Current developments in soil ecotoxicology and the need for strengthening soil ecotoxicology in Europe: results of a stakeholder workshop

Soil is one of our most important resources and fulfills many ecological functions such as storage and filtration of water and nutrients, transformation of chemical compounds and nutrients, biomass production,...

Authors: Janine W. Y. Wong, Bettina Hitzfeld, Michael Zimmermann, Inge Werner and Benoît J. D. Ferrari

Does the antidiabetic drug metformin affect embryo development and the health of brown trout (Salmo trutta f. fario)?

Due to the rising number of type 2 diabetes patients, the antidiabetic drug, metformin is currently among those pharmaceuticals with the highest consumption rates worldwide. Via sewage-treatment plants, metfor...

Authors: Stefanie Jacob, Andreas Dötsch, Sarah Knoll, Heinz-R. Köhler, Eike Rogall, Dominic Stoll, Selina Tisler, Carolin Huhn, Thomas Schwartz, Christian Zwiener and Rita Triebskorn

Photodegradation of Ibuprofen, Cetirizine, and Naproxen by PAN-MWCNT/TiO₂–NH₂ nanofiber membrane under UV light irradiation

In this study, the photodegradation of three pharmaceuticals, namely Ibuprofen (IBP), Naproxen (NPX), and Cetirizine (CIZ) in aqueous media was investigated under UV irradiation. The photocatalyst used in this...

Authors: Alaa Mohamed, Ahmed Salama, Walaa S. Nasser and Abdusalam Uheida

Source water odor in one reservoir in hot and humid areas of southern China: occurrence, diagnosis and possible mitigation measures

Identifying typical odor-causing compounds is essential for odor problem control in drinking water. In this study, aiming at a major water source reservoir in hot and humid areas in southern China, which encou...

Authors: Chao Rong, Dongpo Liu, Yan Li, Kai Yang, Xiaobo Han, Jianwei Yu, Bolun Pan, Jinsong Zhang and Min Yang

Simulation of herbicide impacts on a plant community: comparing model predictions of the plant community model IBC-grass to empirical data

Semi-natural plant communities such as field boundaries play an important ecological role in agricultural landscapes, e.g., provision of refuge for plant and other species, food web support or habitat connecti...

Authors: Jette Reeg, Simon Heine, Christine Mihan, Sean McGee, Thomas G. Preuss and Florian Jeltsch

(Persistent) Organic pollutants in Germany: results from a pilot study within the 2015 moss survey

Since 1990, every 5 years, moss sampling is conducted within the European moss monitoring programme to assess the atmospheric deposition of airborne pollutants. Besides many other countries, Germany takes regu...

Authors: Annekatrin Dreyer, Stefan Nickel and Winfried Schröder

Reviewing the relevance of dioxin and PCB sources for food from animal origin and the need for their inventory, control and management

In the past, cases of PCDD/F and PCB contamination exceeding limits in food from animal origin (eggs, meat or milk) were mainly caused by industrially produced feed. But in the last decade, exceedances of EU l...

Authors: Roland Weber, Christine Herold, Henner Hollert, Josef Kamphues, Markus Blepp and Karlheinz Ballschmiter

SETAC GLB and SETAC Europe SAC: a liaison promoting the next generation of ecotoxicologists and environmental chemists

This commentary is an introduction for students to the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) and its Student Advisory Council (SAC). As young academics face challenges while trying to devel...

Authors: Simon Lüderwald, Kymberly Newton, Katharina Heye, Kristina Bitter, Samuel Moeris, Lena Benner, Paul Böhm, Josef Koch, Alexander Feckler, Mafalda Castro and Andreas Erikkson

A decade of fluvial morphodynamics: relocation and restoration of the Inde River (North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany)

Relocations and restorations do not only change the ecological passability and sediment continuity of a river but also its flow behavior and fluvial morphodynamics. Sediment transport processes and morphologic...

Authors: Anna-Lisa Maaß, Verena Esser, Roy M. Frings, Frank Lehmkuhl and Holger Schüttrumpf

Limits of Concern: suggestions for the operationalisation of a concept to determine the relevance of adverse effects in the ERA of GMOs

The European Food Safety Authority proposed a concept for the environmental risk assessment of genetically modified plants in the EU that is based on the definition of thresholds for the acceptability of poten...

Authors: Marion Dolezel, Marianne Miklau, Andreas Heissenberger and Wolfram Reichenbecher

A new ecotoxicological test method for genetically modified plants and other stressors in soil with the black fungus gnat Bradysia impatiens (Diptera): current status of test development and dietary effects of azadirachtin on larval development and emergence rate

Few suitable and standardized test methods are currently available to test the effects of genetically modified plants (GMP) on non-target organisms. To fill this gap and improve ecotoxicological testing for GM...

Authors: Stephan Jänsch, Johannes Bauer, David Leube, Mathias Otto, Jörg Römbke, Hanka Teichmann and Karolina Waszak

Systematic miRNome profiling reveals differential microRNAs in transgenic maize metabolism

While some genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are created to produce new double-stranded RNA molecules (dsRNA), in others, such molecules may occur as an unintended effect of the genetic engineering process...

Authors: Sarah Zanon Agapito-Tenfen, Vinicius Vilperte, Terje Ingemar Traavik and Rubens Onofre Nodari

Modelling effects of time-variable exposure to the pyrethroid beta-cyfluthrin on rainbow trout early life stages

Available literature and regulatory studies show that the severity of effects of beta-cyfluthrin (a synthetic pyrethroid) on fish is influenced by the magnitude and duration of exposure. To investigate how the...

Authors: Elke I. Zimmer, Thomas G. Preuss, Steve Norman, Barbara Minten and Virginie Ducrot

Direct and indirect effects of pesticides on a benthic grazer during its life cycle

Macroinvertebrates in aquatic ecosystems are repeatedly exposed to pesticides during their life cycle. Effects of consecutive exposure during different life stages and possible synergistic effects are not addr...

Authors: Marcus Rybicki and Dirk Jungmann

Multiple biomarker responses in caged benthic gastropods Bellamya aeruginosa after in situ exposure to Taihu Lake in China

Freshwater sediments have been recognized as a long-term sink and potential source for environmental pollutants released into the aquatic ecosystems. In this study, the sediment quality of Taihu Lake, which is...

Authors: Qian Li, Meng Wang, Lei Duan, Yanling Qiu, Taowu Ma, Ling Chen, Magnus Breitholtz, Åke Bergman, Jianfu Zhao, Markus Hecker and Lingling Wu

Towards a holistic and solution-oriented monitoring of chemical status of European water bodies: how to support the EU strategy for a non-toxic environment?

The definition of priority substances (PS) according to the Water Framework Directive (WFD) helped to remove many of these chemicals from the market and to reduce their concentrations in the European water bod...

Authors: Werner Brack, Beate I. Escher, Erik Müller, Mechthild Schmitt-Jansen, Tobias Schulze, Jaroslav Slobodnik and Henner Hollert

A qPCR method to quantify bioavailable phosphorus using indigenous aquatic species

Bioavailable phosphorus (BAP) represents the sum of phosphorus that is readily available for algae growth and is useful to indicate the severity of eutrophication in aquatic environments.

Authors: Yanan Yang, Jianghua Yang and Xiaowei Zhang

Long-term effects of environmentally relevant concentrations of silver nanoparticles on major soil bacterial phyla of a loamy soil

The growing production and use of engineered AgNP in industry and private households make increasing concentrations of AgNP in the environment unavoidable. Although we already know the harmful effects of AgNP ...

Authors: Anna-Lena Grün and Christoph Emmerling

Do consumers care about substances of very high concern in articles?

Consumers have the right to inquire whether a consumer article contains substances of very high concern (‘SVHC right to know’). This communication tool is designed to stimulate suppliers to substitute such ing...

Authors: Sabrina Hartmann and Ursula Klaschka

A combined experimental and modeling study to evaluate pH-dependent sorption of polar and non-polar compounds to polyethylene and polystyrene microplastics

The contamination of aquatic ecosystems with both anthropogenic pollutants and particles in particular (microscopic) plastic debris items is of emerging concern. Since plastic particles can accumulate contamin...

Authors: Sven Seidensticker, Peter Grathwohl, Jonas Lamprecht and Christiane Zarfl

Equilibrium sampling of HOCs in sediments and suspended particulate matter of the Elbe River

Chemical quality of sediment and suspended particulate matter (SPM) is usually assessed by total chemical concentrations (C_total). However, the freely dissolved concentration (C_free) is the ecologically more rele...

Authors: Nora Claire Niehus, Sabine Schäfer, Christel Möhlenkamp and Gesine Witt

Factors associated with blooms of cyanobacteria in a large shallow lake, China

Eutrophication of freshwater systems can result in blooms of phytoplankton, in many cases cyanobacteria. This can lead to shifts in structure and functions of phytoplankton communities adversely affecting the ...

Authors: Di Li, Naicheng Wu, Song Tang, Guanyong Su, Xuwen Li, Yong Zhang, Guoxiang Wang, Junyi Zhang, Hongling Liu, Markus Hecker, John P. Giesy and Hongxia Yu

DNA metabarcoding reveals the complex and hidden responses of chironomids to multiple stressors

Chironomids, or non-biting midges, often dominate stream invertebrate communities in terms of biomass, abundance, and species richness and play an important role in riverine food webs. Despite these clear fact...

Authors: Arne J. Beermann, Vera M. A. Zizka, Vasco Elbrecht, Viktor Baranov and Florian Leese

Influence of different wastewater treatment technologies on genotoxicity and dioxin-like toxicity in effluent-exposed fish

In situ exposure of rainbow trout up- and downstream of differently equipped wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and subsequent analyses of micronuclei frequencies and hepatic EROD activities were used to eval...

Authors: Sabrina Wilhelm, Stefanie Jacob, Michael Ziegler, Heinz-R. Köhler and Rita Triebskorn

PharmCycle: a holistic approach to reduce the contamination of the aquatic environment with antibiotics by developing sustainable antibiotics, improving the environmental risk assessment of antibiotics, and reducing the discharges of antibiotics in the wastewater outlet

The overall aim of the interdisciplinary research project “PharmCycle” is to reduce the contamination of the aquatic environment with antibiotics by developing sustainable antibiotics, improving the environmen...

Authors: Jörg Andrä, Falk Beyer, Gesine Cornelissen, Jörn Einfeldt, Jens Heseding, Klaus Kümmerer, Kim Oelkers and Carolin Floeter

In vitro or not in vitro: a short journey through a long history

The aim of ecotoxicology is to study toxic effects on constituents of ecosystems, with the protection goal being populations and communities rather than individual organisms. In this ecosystem perspective, the...

Authors: Kristina Rehberger, Christian Kropf and Helmut Segner

The importance of sediments in ecological quality assessment of stream headwaters: embryotoxicity along the Nidda River and its tributaries in Central Hesse, Germany

Although the crucial importance of sediments in aquatic systems is well-known, sediments are often neglected as a factor in the evaluation of water quality assessment. To support and extend previous work in th...

Authors: Mona Schweizer, Andreas Dieterich, Núria Corral Morillas, Carla Dewald, Lukas Miksch, Sara Nelson, Arne Wick, Rita Triebskorn and Heinz-R. Köhler

Economic growth for ecological conversions: South Korean case

Sprawl has been named as one of the critical reasons for the latest social problems in many parts of the world. This is particularly true for developing countries, as their national status largely depends on e...

Authors: Hye Kyung Lee and Hwan Yong Kim

Combining in vitro reporter gene bioassays with chemical analysis to assess changes in the water quality along the Ammer River, Southwestern Germany

Rivers receive water and associated organic micropollutants from their entire catchment, including from urban, agricultural and natural sources, and constitute an important environmental component for catalyzi...

Authors: Maximilian E. Müller, Beate I. Escher, Marc Schwientek, Martina Werneburg, Christiane Zarfl and Christian Zwiener

Significance thresholds for the assessment of contaminated groundwater: perfluorinated and polyfluorinated chemicals

Per- and polyfluorinated chemicals (PFC) do not occur naturally in the environment and are, therefore, of anthropogenic origin. As a consequence of their wide range of everyday applications and their extreme p...

Authors: Karl Theo von der Trenck, Rainer Konietzka, Annegret Biegel-Engler, Jan Brodsky, Andrea Hädicke, Arnold Quadflieg, Rudolf Stockerl and Thorsten Stahl

Institute of hydraulic engineering and water resources management (RWTH Aachen University): an overview of research focus and training

Water is an essential element and highly valuable resource in life. Between the priorities of environment, people and economy, it is of increasing importance to fully understand the fundamental force of water ...

Authors: Elisa Classen and Holger Schüttrumpf

Cationic polyacrylamide copolymers (PAMs): environmental half life determination in sludge-treated soil

Cationic polyacrylamide copolymers (PAMs) are used for sludge dewatering in municipal waste water treatment and might enter the environment by spreading of the sludge on agricultural land. Concern has been exp...

Authors: Dieter Hennecke, Angela Bauer, Monika Herrchen, Erik Wischerhoff and Friedhelm Gores

Comparison of software tools for kinetic evaluation of chemical degradation data

For evaluating the fate of xenobiotics in the environment, a variety of degradation or environmental metabolism experiments are routinely conducted. The data generated in such experiments are evaluated by opti...

Authors: Johannes Ranke, Janina Wöltjen and Stefan Meinecke

The Swiss Ecotox Centre: bridging the gap between research and application

The Swiss Centre for Applied Ecotoxicology (Ecotox Centre) was created in recognition of the urgent societal need to provide expertise, education and tools for assessing the risks and effects of anthropogenic ...

Authors: Inge Werner