Chemistry and ecotoxicology of pollution

Progress in ecotoxicology, environmental chemistry and ecology

This Editorial introduces a series of papers on 'Progress in ecotoxicology, environmental chemistry and ecology' and was initiated in the context of the Joint SETAC GLB/GDCh Annual Meeting 2013 at the University of Duisburg-Essen. According to the title of the conference 'Ecotoxicology in an urban context' (Ökotoxikologie im urbanen Raum), a couple of conference contributions dealing with the o...

Environmental chemistry and ecotoxicology: in greater demand than ever

Environmental chemistry and ecotoxicology have been losing support, resources, and recognition at universities for many years. What are the possible causes of this process? A first problem may be that the need for research and teaching in environmental chemistry and ecotoxicology is no longer seen because chemical pollution problems are considered as largely solved. Second, environmental chemis...

Ecotoxicology.

Ecotoxicology and ecosystems health.

There is mounting evidence that traditional investigations are no longer sufficient either to assess the ecological characteristics of a resource or to better understand the dynamics of an ecosystem. Reliable experimental data to be used for further investigation as well as for environmental corrective action are obtained using the traditional quantitative and qualitative biological methods. In...

Ecotoxicology of human pharmaceuticals.

Low levels of human medicines (pharmaceuticals) have been detected in many countries in sewage treatment plant (STP) effluents, surface waters, seawaters, groundwater and some drinking waters. For some pharmaceuticals effects on aquatic organisms have been investigated in acute toxicity assays. The chronic toxicity and potential subtle effects are only marginally known, however. Here, we critic...