Bioassessment techniques are useful tools that can be used to evaluate the toxicity of site-specific complex mixtures using resident or laboratory-raised organisms. Although regulations based on bioassessment have been implemented under the NPDES program, the use of these techniques at hazardous waste sites is at a relatively early stage of development. Most commonly, bioassessment techniques have been used to identify contaminated areas at sites, and also to measure adverse effects that have occurred at the site. In order for bioassessment to be more extensively used, however, advances are needed in two general areas. First, the authors need to provide firmer links between endpoints that can be measured via bioassays to endpoints that are used in decision-making. Second, bioassessment results need to be more directly applicable to the design of treatment technologies.

"Symposium paper: Presented at the 1st Symposium on In Situ Evaluation of Biological Hazards of Environmental pollutants, December 5-7, Omni Buropa Hotel, Chapel, NC." Microfiche.