Predicting Toxicological and Ecotoxicological Endpoints

Abstract

In the last few decades, society has become increasingly concerned about the possible impacts of chemicals to which humans and environmental organisms are exposed. In many industrialised countries, this has led to the implementation of stringent chemicals legislation and to the initiation of ambitious risk assessment and management programmes (see Chapter 1). However, it has become increasingly apparent that the magnitude of the task exceeds the availability of resources (experts, time, money) if traditional test methods are employed. This realization, coupled with increasing attention to animal welfare concerns, has prompted the development and application of various (computer-based) estimation methods in the regulatory assessment of chemicals.