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Alternative approaches for vertebrate ecotoxicity tests in the 21st century: A review of developments over the last 2 decades and current status
Citation:
Lillicrap, A., S. Belanger, N. Burden, D. Du Pasquier, M. Embry, M. Halder, M. Lampi, L. Lee, T. Norberg-King, B. Rattner, K. Schirmer, AND P. Thomas. Alternative approaches for vertebrate ecotoxicity tests in the 21st century: A review of developments over the last 2 decades and current status. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY. Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Pensacola, FL, 35(11):2637-2646, (2016).
Impact/Purpose:
The need for alternative approaches to the use of vertebrate animals for hazard assessing chemicals and pollutants has become of increasing importance. It is now the first consideration when initiating a vertebrate ecotoxicity test, to ensure that unnecessary use of vertebrate organisms is minimised wherever possible. For some regulatory purposes, the use of vertebrate organisms for environmental risk assessments (ERA) has even been banned, and in other situations the numbers of organisms tested has been dramatically reduced, or the severity of the procedure refined. However, there is still a long way to go to achieve replacement of vertebrate organisms to generate environmental hazard data. The development of animal alternatives is not just based on ethical considerations but also to reduce the cost of performing vertebrate ecotoxicity tests and in some cases to provide better information aimed at improving ERAs. The present focus paper provides an overview of the considerable advances that have been made towards alternative approaches for ecotoxicity assessments over the last few decades.
Description:
The need for alternative approaches to the use of vertebrate animals for hazard assessing chemicals and pollutants has become of increasing importance. It is now the first consideration when initiating a vertebrate ecotoxicity test, to ensure that unnecessary use of vertebrate organisms is minimised wherever possible. For some regulatory purposes, the use of vertebrate organisms for environmental risk assessments (ERA) has even been banned, and in other situations the numbers of organisms tested has been dramatically reduced, or the severity of the procedure refined. However, there is still a long way to go to achieve replacement of vertebrate organisms to generate environmental hazard data. The development of animal alternatives is not just based on ethical considerations but also to reduce the cost of performing vertebrate ecotoxicity tests and in some cases to provide better information aimed at improving ERAs. The present focus paper provides an overview of the considerable advances that have been made towards alternative approaches for ecotoxicity assessments over the last few decades.
