ABSTRACT
Ecotoxicological soundness is one of a wide variety of criteria including those derived frorn human toxicology which must be met by these substances in order to qualify for notification. These assessments, which must follow a procedure codified in the form of guidelines specifying limitations on the level or duration of exposure to a substance and its effects, are usually conducted on a rising scale of complexity, proceeding from laboratory and semi-field tests to studies in the field. Under certain prerequisites, the scale of direct effects from such diverse substances as copper or Cypermethrine in the field can be forecast by means of acute experiments in the laboratory. The indirect effects of these substances, however, have been vastly underestimated, even when chronic laboratory tests were conducted. To secure the benefits of standardized tests, all ecotoxicological tests for pesticides and environmental chemicals in industrialized countries must be conducted according to the “Guidelines of Good Laboratory Practice”.
