WP4.1 Selection and validation of bioassays for water quality assessment

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The objectives of this work package are:

To select and validate a minimal panel of bioassays for cost-effective and comprehensive toxicity screening of water and waste water samples and compliance with current and future legislations

The following tasks (with deliverables and milestones) are planned:

T4.1.1: Selection criteria

Selection criteria for the bioassays, which will include a preliminary evaluation of performance characteristics, practical applicability, relevance and cost effectiveness, will be determined.

T4.1.2: Selection of bioassays

Candidate bioassays for the assessment of water and wastewater quality regarding contamination with micropollutants using the established selection criteria and previous experience will be identified. Validated and standardised in vivo assays with test species from different trophic levels will be selected, and their performance will be evaluated with data from in vitro tests. A cost effective screening panel of assays, based on an evaluation of the application domain of individual tests, complementarity, practical applicability, and cost-effectiveness will be established, and a report of these results is expected in August 2014.

T4.1.3: Automation

Automation steps that will facilitate implementation in WP 4.3 will be selected and configured.

T4.1.4: Trigger values

Bioassay guidelines or trigger values will be developed by establishing a valid point of departure (POD) and determining the chemical applicability domain of the selected bioassays. A report on this will be completed in October 2013. Estimation of the in vivo kinetics of the selected priority compounds will be linked to bioanalytical results to determine allocation factors for water matrices of priority compounds.

T4.1.5: Validation

This task will validate the selected in vitro bioassays. The ability of bioassay panels to detect priority compounds will be determined. Complementary, advanced high resolution chemical analytical analysis will be carried out to obtain complete coverage with a panel of bioassays. Performance tests of selected bioassays will be carried out in three laboratories to establish inter- and intra-laboratory variance. Finally, the compliance with current and future legislations will be investigated.

 

To download the deliverables that are already completed, please see the results section.

Work Package: