Guidelines for Acute Toxicological Tests

This guide has attempted to provide general fundamental considerations for acute testing in the broad areas of aquatic, plant, and mammalian toxicity testing. It is intended to support the experimental considerations of each field and point out some additional statistical aspects neglected in related guide and often omitted in reports. Minimum report requirements are listed and described. Graphic displays of short-term toxicological testing summarize results vividly and succinctly. Since many computer programs do not include data displays, discussion and examples of display details are included. One example indicates methods of adjusting estimates when individuals in the control group also respond. Another example presents tests for the consistency of dose response when combining results from more than one experiment. Sections included are the selection of dosage levels, randomization, selecting computer programs for processing data, suggestions on the data analysis, and restrictions on the uses of the techniques.