ABSTRACT
Environmental pollution due to rapid industrial development has led to an assessment of ecological and environmental risks. Ecotoxicity studies contribute to this evaluation, allowing us to understand the consequences that an element under study has on populations and ecosystems. There are two types of ecotoxicity tests, chronic and acute, and the organisms used must have certain characteristics in order to obtain sensitive results. Although there are no standard organisms used to perform this kind of tests, it is important to select organisms from different trophic levels. Some examples of organisms used in these tests are microcrustaceans, algae and bacteria. Furthermore, although there are still no clear criteria, these tests can still be applied to waste classification.
