on in the field, at least were consistent enough to be applied to environmental 

 decisions. This acceptance was based on recognition of certain principles taken from 

 many diverse fields. Moreover, this acceptance was based on very pragmatic 

 concerns: 



• We had neither the time nor the skills to examine all chemicals in all 

 environments against all species at risk. 



• We recognized the critical role that environmental conditions played in 

 determining the outcome of exposure to a toxicant, but were helpless in 

 controlling these conditions in the field, lake or stream. 



• The field of environmental chemodynamics — the study of the fate and 

 movement of chemicals in environmental systems — was being established as 

 interrelating physicochemical characteristics and environmental processes. 



• For decades, successful use of white rats and mice in the health sciences and of a 

 variety of invertebrates and cold-blooded vertebrates in pesticide studies had 

 shown the ways in which laboratory knowledge could be used. 



• People were becoming increasingly resistant to "on the job" testing of 

 chemicals, recalling the challenge of the mid-I930s of "100 Million Guinea 

 Pigs."' Moreover, new environmental laws meant that any such use would 

 have to be limited to chemicals which had no predictable adverse impact. 



• The concepts of ecology and what was to be called ecotoxicology began to be 

 expressed in terms of quantitative processes and models for which precise 

 measurements were needed. 



Measurement of the fate and effects of a toxic pollutant under controlled 

 laboratory conditions therefore became the first step in the predictive evaluation of 

 adverse impact. These measurements can be contrasted with field assessments or 

 monitoring. The former approach is applicable even before a chemical is used or 

 manufactured in great quantities. In the latter instance, we may be searching for the 

 causes to a problem, seeking confirmation of laboratory tests, or simply assessingthe 

 presence of chemicals or biologically active materials in air, water, soil or biota. 



Over the past decade, there have been enacted a number of federal and state laws 

 which literally demand that the protection of wildlife resources and habitat be 

 considered, either specifically or in terms of human welfare. The most specific laws 

 have been the most recent: the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), amendments 

 to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and the 

 Resources Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Furthermore, court decisions 

 and consent decrees have established critical problems and/ or chemicals for which 

 testing must be rapid, accurate, inexpensive and cost-effective. 



In spite of great strides in toxicology, ecology, and environmental chemistry, 

 evaluating the consequences of chemical usage on pollutant releases remains 

 complex and hazardous as building a network of roads and bridges through a barely 

 explored swamp. On one side are the very real and known dangers to man and 

 supporting ecosystems of chemicals inadvertently released or carelessly distributed. 

 Consequences of ineffective action with regard to these dangers could range from 

 genetic damage and loss of entire populations to damaged agricultural and 

 silvicultural capacity or loss of fisheries resources. On the other side of the equally 

 real economic and social implications of chemical production and use and other 

 anthropogenic sources of pollution. The consequences of unnecessary regulation or 

 overreaction could affect the quality of life and, indeed, even the survival of millions 

 of people and other species. 



The various Acts are authorizations to build these bridges through poorly 

 chartered territory, but the map is being crafted, in no small part, by scientists in the 

 several areas of ecotoxicology and environmental chemistry. The latter is a parallel 

 path to biological effects; without that knowledge there is no direct way to place 

 knowledge of ecotoxicological effects in perspective. Similarly, more presence of a 



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