Standards Development

Scope

This part of ISO 11268 specifies one of the methods for evaluating the habitat function of soils and determining the acute toxicity of soil contaminants, waste materials and chemicals to Eisenia fetida/Eisenia andrei by dermal and alimentary uptake. It is applicable to soils and soil materials of unknown quality, e.g. from contaminated sites, amended soils, soils after remediation, agricultural or other sites concerned, and waste materials.

Effects of substances are assessed using a standard soil, preferably a defined artificial soil substrate. For contaminated soils, the effects on survival are determined in the test soil and in a control soil. According to the objective of the study, the control and dilution substrate (dilution series of contaminated soil) can be either an uncontaminated soil comparable to the soil sample to be tested (reference soil) or a standard soil (e.g. artificial soil).

Information is provided on how to use this method for testing chemicals under temperate as well as under tropical conditions.The method is not applicable to substances for which the air/soil partition coefficient is greater than one, or to substances with vapour pressure exceeding 300 Pa at 25 °C.

This method does not take into account the possible degradation of the substances or contaminants during the test. This method also includes technical information on how to use it with other environmentally relevant earthworm species, i.e. Dendrodrilus rubidus and Aporrectodea caliginosa (see Annex E and Annex F) as well as a test design to acquire data for toxicokinetic-toxicodynamic (TKTD) modelling (Annex G).