Our modern, open-plan laboratories provide full flexibility for the in-life and analytical phases of environmental fate studies to meet your program needs. Test systems (soils, sediments or waters) can be sourced from sites worldwide, enabling all global requirements to be accommodated. The viability (biomass) of each test system is verified (if applicable) prior to study initiation.

Studies are performed in isolated, flexible flow-through glass systems designed to investigate the breakdown of radiolabelled test items under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The equipment permits the quantitative collection of radiolabelled volatiles, and any combination of liquid- or solid-phase trapping systems can be attached in series to each incubate. Systems for the collection of reduced labelled volatile products such as ¹⁴CH₄ are used in anaerobic studies.

Gas and nitrogen analyzers are used for investigating the effect of treatment on the short-term respiration and nitrogen mineralization capacity of soil microflora. The response of both equipment and standard soils is checked annually, and the resultant validation report is available free of charge.

Studies include:

• Ready and inherent biodegradation
• Aerobic and anaerobic degradation in soil and aquatic sediment systems
• Soil adsorption-desorption/mobility
• Hydrolytic stability
• Photolytic stability (soil and aqueous)
• Soil dissipation

Plant and Environmental Metabolism

Phytotoxicity tests are conducted in terrestrial crops and non-crop species to determine effects on seed germination, emergence and vegetative vigour.

For more information about our environmental fate studies, contact us at 1.877.CRIVER.1 or askcharlesriver@crl.com.