The key to the evaluation of the fate of toxic organic chemicals in the environment is dependant on evaluating their susceptibility to biodegradation. Biodegradation is one of the most important mechanisms in controlling the concentration of chemicals in an aquatic system because toxic pollutants can be mineralized and rendered harmless. Experiments using an electrolytic respirometer have been conducted to collect oxygen consumption data of toxic compounds from the list of RCRA and RCRA land banned chemicals (phenols and phthalates). The estimation of Monod kinetic parameters were obtained for all the compounds by a graphical method. The first order kinetic constants for the substituted phenols were related to the structure of the compounds by the group contribution method.