Ecotoxicology: Biological Effects Measurements on Molluscs and Their Use in Impact Assessment

Techniques that measure the biological effects of pollutants are critical to any programme of environmental impact assessment (Cairns and Van der Schale 1980; Rosenberg et al. 1981; Bayne 1985). This has been recognised by the IOC Global Investigation of Pollution in the Marine Environment (GIPME) (1976) which requires their application in the third stage of their proposed four-stage systematic approach to the determination of the extent of marine pollution. This stage, called Pollution Assessment, involves the conversion of chemical base-line and massbalance information into knowledge of biological impact and precedes and renders effective the final stage, the consideration of the need for Regulatory Action.