Results from a multi-laboratory validation of a new marine biodegradation screening test for chemical persistence assessment

International ring test with 13 laboratories validated a new test for marine biodegradation with a focus on more reliable persistence screening.New test (imBSTMR) incorporates increased bacterial cell numbers and runs beyond 60 days.New test provides a more reliable and less variable characterisation of the biodegradation of five reference compounds (sodium benzoate, triethanolamine, 4-nitrophenol, anionic polyacrylamide, pentachlorophenol), with respect to non-persistence thresholds, than the current OECD 306 method.For more information on the methods and results, please see the paper Ott et al., 2020, Multi-laboratory validation of a new marine biodegradation screening test for chemical persistence assessment - manuscript submitted for publication