Abstract |
Sediment toxicity tests have been developed on the basis of virtually all levels of biological organization from sub-cellular through model ecosystems. Rapid, cost-effective techniques based on acute exposures are often used in research and regulatory programs to determine the spatial and temporal distribution of sediment toxicity, and the relative toxicity of individual chemicals and complex wastes spiked into sediment. Sediment toxicity tests are part of several comprehensive methods for generating sediment quality criteria. Major research needs include test methods for chronic exposures, field validation of acute toxicity tests and the geochemical integrity of test materials, the relation between toxicity and the bioavailability/partitioning of contaminants in different sediment phases, models of toxicological interactions between sediment contaminants, and sediment wasteload allocation models. |