Overview

This volume presents a broad compendium of techniques used in biodegradation and toxicological research. Through both legacy and up-to-date approaches to practical methodologies with proven results, the book examines the role and applications of analytical biodegradation quantification as it applies to the environmental sciences, particularly in the range of byproducts that are usually linked to toxicology, and the test organisms most often used in toxicity testing. Topics include scientific and technical feasibility studies, contaminant impacts evaluation, study design and analytical techniques, key methodologies required to prepare the biodegradation and toxicology protocols, as well as the handling of microbial communities related to such processes. Written for the Methods in Pharmacology and Toxicology series, chapters deal with a critical discussion of laboratory scale experiments, as well as full scale in situ and ex situ apparatus, with each chapter containing both a discursive section along with a detailed methods section. Detailed and authoritative, Toxicity and Biodegradation Testing is primarily focused toward the environmental sciences researcher, while the range of techniques also provides an introduction to biodegradation and toxicology methods for researchers outside of the field.