Bio-assays for microchemical environmental contaminants, with special reference to water supplies.

A solution of the problem of environmental contamination must be based on accurate measurement of the extent of the contamination and of the resulting hazards. This paper reviews the methods for the estimation of microchemical contaminants in water with the aid of living organisms. The methods are grouped according to the nature of the response of the organism to the contaminant-namely, acute response (usually death), behavioural change, physiological change, biochemical and histochemical change, ecological change, embryological and regenerational change, growth change, histological change and perception by man or aquatic organisms. Finally, the following problems are discussed: selection of appropriate tests and standardization, the dangers of sequential concentration and the need for multi-parametric assays (assays involving several responses of a single organism, or responses of several organisms) for complete characterization of the effects of a contaminant on the environment.