ABSTRACT
Persistent contaminants in the environment affect human health and ecosystems. It is important to assess the risks of these pollutants for environmental policy. Ecological risk assessment (ERA) is a tool to estimate adverse effects on the environment from chemical or physical stressors. It is anticipated that ERA will be the main tool used by the U.S. Department of Energy (US DOE) to accomplish waste management [1]. Toxicity bioassays are the important line of evidence in an ERA. Recent environmental legislation and increased awareness of the risk of soil and water pollution have stimulated a demand for sensitive and rapid bioassays that use indigenous and ecologically relevant organisms to detect the early stages of pollution and monitor subsequent ecosystem change.
