Conclusion
An index of toxicity is intended to be a simple tool that allows integrating and summarizing several variables into a single value. Realistically, this cannot be inferred without a judgement by environmental protection experts who consider all parameters available for their classification. PLS regression helped calculate an index fitted to expert judgement. The loss of information owing to the transformation of a multivariate situation to a univariate one was thus minimized since it is an inherent characteristic of multivariate analytical tools.
The index is easily calculated and depends mainly on chronic toxicity tests associated with a sensitive measurement endpoint chosen to be the EC10 (concentration incurring a 10% effect). It can be used as a regulatory criterion that is more protective of aquatic ecosystems than those based on a single acute toxicity test.
The need for an appropriate battery of genotoxicity tests is also important and cannot be compensated or replaced by toxicity tests since the variables are clearly independent. Further research, especially on genotoxicity tests with eukaryotes, applied to effluents, should be encouraged.
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Vindimian, É. (2005). A multitest index of effluent toxicity by PLS regression. In: Blaise, C., Férard, JF. (eds) Small-scale Freshwater Toxicity Investigations. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3553-5_3
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