Ecotoxicology - Environmental context

Ecotoxicology is a relatively new science. Its name was introduced in 1969 by Professor Truhaut. It is derived from the words ecology and toxicology. Ecology can be defined as the study of environments and their relationships with living beings. In an ecosystem, we distinguish between the abiotic component, or biotope, and the biotic component, which corresponds to all the living beings in the ecosystem. Toxicology is the study of the harmful effects of chemicals on living organisms. It therefore focuses on the individual and studies toxicity mechanisms.

A third discipline is also important for ecotoxicology: environmental chemistry. It studies the presence of chemical compounds in the environment, their distribution in different compartments and the physico-chemical properties of these substances in the environment (mobility, binding, etc.). It also enables us to monitor the geochemical processes involved in the appearance and degradation of compounds.