title: Alternative approaches to vertebrate ecotoxicity tests in the 21st century: A review of developments over the last 2 decades and current status.
abstract: The need for alternative approaches to the use of vertebrate animals for hazard assessment of chemicals and pollutants has become of increasing importance. It is now the first consideration when initiating a vertebrate ecotoxicity test, to ensure that unnecessary use of vertebrate organisms is minimized wherever possible. For some regulatory purposes, the use of vertebrate organisms for environmental risk assessments has been banned; in other situations, the number of organisms tested has been dramatically reduced or the severity of the procedure refined. However, there is still a long way to go to achieve a complete replacement of vertebrate organisms to generate environmental hazard data. The development of animal alternatives is based not just on ethical considerations but also on reducing the cost of performing vertebrate ecotoxicity tests and in some cases on providing better information aimed at improving environmental risk assessments. The present Focus article provides an overview of the considerable advances that have been made toward alternative approaches for ecotoxicity assessments over the last few decades. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:2637-2646. © 2016 SETAC.
authors: Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Oslo, Norway. ali@niva.no.
authors: Adam
authors: A
authors: Lillicrap
authors: Environmental Safety and Sustainability, Global Product Stewardship, Procter & Gamble, Mason, Ohio, USA.
authors: Scott
authors: S
authors: Belanger
authors: National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs), London, United Kingdom.
authors: Natalie
authors: N
authors: Burden
authors: WatchFrog, Evry, France.
authors: David Du
authors: DD
authors: Pasquier
authors: ILSI Health and Environmental Sciences Institute, Washington, DC, USA.
authors: Michelle R
authors: MR
authors: Embry
authors: European Commission Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy.
authors: Marlies
authors: M
authors: Halder
authors: ExxonMobil Biomedical Sciences, Annandale, New Jersey, USA.
authors: Mark A
authors: MA
authors: Lampi
authors: Faculty of Science, University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada.
authors: Lucy
authors: L
authors: Lee
authors: National Health and Environmental Effects Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, Mid-Continent Ecology Division-Duluth, US Environmental Protection Agency, Duluth, Minnesota, USA.
authors: Teresa
authors: T
authors: Norberg-King
authors: Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, US Geological Survey, Beltsville, Maryland, USA.
authors: Barnett A
authors: BA
authors: Rattner
authors: Eawag-Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland.|Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zürich, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zürich, Switzerland.|School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, EPF Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors: Kristin
authors: K
authors: Schirmer
authors: Consultancy for Environmental & Human Toxicology & Risk Assessment (Lyon Agency), L'Isle d'Abeau, France.
authors: Paul
authors: P
authors: Thomas
mesh_terms: D000826:Animal Testing Alternatives / Q000379:methods*; D000818:Animals; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors / Q000633:toxicity; D005399:Fishes / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D015386:Hazardous Substances / Q000633:toxicity; D021281:Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship; D018570:Risk Assessment; D018675:Toxicity Tests / Q000379:methods*; D014714:Vertebrates / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D052244:Endocrine Disruptors; D015386:Hazardous Substances
keywords: 3Rs; Ecotoxicity; In silico; In vitro; Vertebrate