Workshop on the improvement of the OECD 306 screening test at the CEFAS (Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science ) laboratories, Lowestoft, UK on the 17th and 18th February 2015

Recent ECETOC workshops recommended a series of modifications and enhancements to existing OECD biodegradation screening tests to deliver more robust methods for assessing persistence [1]. This reflects the high variability and poor reliability previously reported in OECD biodegradation screening tests such as the OECD 306, marine biodegradation test [2,3,4].

The Cefic-LRi funded Eco11 [5] investigated and validated these enhancements, producing a framework for selecting the most suitable inocula cell concentration method for improved enhanced activated sludge (c.f. OECD 301) and marine tests (c.f. OECD 306). The plan is that these improvements will lead to a ring test of an enhanced OECD 306 test, which is of considerable interest to OSPAR and other regulators.

This workshop will introduce the concepts and hands-on lab-based training so that any facilities interested in participating in a ring test will have the knowledge to do so. The workshop will consist of:

-  Half a day of the theory, concepts and scientific evaluation of cell concentration methods and enhanced tests.

-  Half a day of a practical demonstration of a cell concentration method for aqueous inocula (e.g. an enhanced OECD 306 test).

A short discussion of the practice of the Marine BODIS test will also be included.

The Cefic-LRi sponsored workshop will be delivered by the Eco 11 LRI team (Newcastle University and AstraZeneca) at the CEFAS (Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science ) laboratories, Lowestoft, UK on the 17th and 18th February 2015.

For further details, please contact the ECETOC Secretariat by email at info@ecetoc.org

[1] ECETOC 2013. Assessing Environmental Persistence. Workshop Report No. 24.

[2] ECETOC 2003. Persistence of chemicals in the Environment. Workshop Report No. 90.

[3] ECETOC 2007. Workshop on Biodegradation and Persistence. Workshop Report No. 10.

[4] Goodhead et al., 2013. Standard inocula preparations reduce the bacterial diversity and reliability of regulatory biodegradation tests. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 21 (16); 9511-9521.

[5] Cefic 2014. Cefic LRi Eco11. http://www.cefic-lri.org/projects.