Environmental Toxicology

This course gives an overview of different aspects playing a role in the challenging field of environmental toxicology. Toxicology itself already is very interdisciplinary, but environmental toxicology even adds (environmental) chemistry, earth sciences, biology of a wide range of species and ecology to this. The course is set-up as an integration between lectures, practicals, computer sessions, videos and excursion. The book 'Principles of Ecotoxicology' is used to develop a basis for the rest of the subjects in the course. About half of the lectures will focus on a variety of timely additional issues. In the practical part of the course you will use a set of experiments to identify two unkown chemicals based on their toxicity profiles. Applying a set of modern in vitro and in vivo assays you will address the toxicity of the unknown and compare this with literature data/ Based on this, the identity of the chemicals can be assessed. This will be presented both orally as well as in a small report.

• Summarise the most relevant terms, principles and methods in environmental toxicology

• Distinguish the main sources and types of environmental pollutants and assess their potential environmental fate

• Evaluate the characteristics of compounds, organisms and ecosystem for their consequences for environmental fate and effect propagation

• Design and execute toxicological dose-response experiments in a comprehensive way and analyse and critically discuss the results (written)

• Create an experimental approach with meaningful endpoints to assess the environmental and human risk for a topical environmental contamination case

• Written test with closed questions (60%)
• Assignment reflection report (40%) Practical skills: students will perform different assays with different species. This will be performed in groups of 3. The results of the assays will be evaluated and integrated in an overall identification of the (unknown) chemicals they tested. This will be tested with a short, written report and a group presentation.

ZSS06100 Laboratory Safety Prior to the course it is assumed that some information of the online text book Environmental Toxicology is read, i.e. chapter 1.1 Environmental Toxicology (https://maken.wikiwijs.nl/120137/1__Introduction#!page-4124228) and 1.3 Short history (https://maken.wikiwijs.nl/120137/1__Introduction#!page-4124230)

• We will use parts of the online textbook Environmental Toxicology, which is free of charge (https://maken.wikiwijs.nl/147644/Environmental_Toxicology__an_open_online_textbook.)