Concept of eco toxicants and its effect on ecosystem
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Ecotoxicology
Ecotoxicology as defined by the French professor Réné Truhaut is concerned with the toxic effects of chemical and physical agents on living organisms, especially on populations and communities within defined ecosystems, and includes the transfer pathways of those agents and their integration with the environment.
In Denmark, scientific and experimental ecotoxicology was initiated in the late 1970s at the independent, international consulting and research organization the Water Quality Institute (later DHI Water Environment Health) in Hørsholm where testing in the aquatic environment became highly developed. In 1977 a new Laboratory for Environmental Sciences and Ecology was established at the Technical University of Denmark (founded in 1829) under the leadership of Professor Finn Bro Rasmussen. During the 1980s the Institute organized several international conferences (e.g. the 1st European Conference on Ecotoxicology of SECOTOX (1989)). In 1991 the Institute merged with the Institute of Environment & Resources (later becoming the Department of Environmental Engineering) at the Technical University of Denmark.
A professorship in environmental toxicology was established in 1977 at the Department of Biology at the University of Odense, now the University of Southern Denmark, with Professor Ole Karlog (1977–1985) as head. Aquatic ecotoxicology was established with the employment of Professor Michael H. Depledge (1987–1994), and later, under the leadership of Professor Poul Bjerregaard, research on endocrine disruption was developed.
In 1990 the Danish National Environmental Research Institute established the Department of Terrestrial Ecology in Silkeborg, focusing on terrestrial ecotoxicology with Dr Hans Løkke as head. In 2004 a professorship of 5 years duration in terrestrial ecology/ecotoxicology (Martin Holmstrup) was established as a collaboration between the Department of Terrestrial Ecology and Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Aarhus. The Danish National Environmental Research Institute was a part of the Ministry of the Environment until January 2007 when it merged with the University of Aarhus.
The departmental structure at Roskilde University, founded in 1972, has been undergoing major changes. As of September 2006 six new departments have been established. Two of the departments, the Department of Science, Systems and Models and the Department of Environmental, Social and Spatial Change carry out some research in ecotoxicology and environmental toxicology and started courses in ecotoxicology in 2003.
The Danish Environmental Research Programme 1992–2004 (http://info.au.dk/smp/smp_uk/Hjem/hjem.htm) has had a great impact on the development of Danish ecotoxicology. The research carried out in the Danish Centre for Ecotoxicological Research (1992–1997) resulted in a range of new tools that increased understanding of and enabled assessment of the risks posed by environmentally hazardous substances. New tools were developed, particularly in connection with the aquatic environment and for cleaning up contaminated soil. In the Danish Centre for Environmental Oestrogen Research (1996–2000) methods of testing that can reveal estrogen-like effects of chemicals were developed and effects of selected chemicals were studied on levels of biological organization ranging from the molecular level through cellular and organ level to studies of individuals and populations.