[Employment of continuous biotest systems for monitoring the Rhine river]

As a part of the work of the German Commission for the Prevention of Pollution of the River Rhine biological test automats are developed and proved in a research project. The joint project "Development, Testing and Implementation of Biotests for the Monitoring of the River Rhine" sponsored by the Federal Ministry for Research and Technology (BMFT) and the Federal Environmental Agency (UBA), aims to provide a scientific and technical basis for an improved Rhine monitoring system. To realize a biological effect monitoring with functional subjects at the trophic levels of producers, primary and secondary consumers and destruents, the test spectrum includes algae, mussels, daphnia, fishes, and bacteria. Moreover, at the suborganismic level a test system with plant protoplasts is tested. Assessment schemes for the evaluation of measuring data and alarm situations, and limit values for releasing alarms are defined by the Working Group "Biotests for the Monitoring of the River Rhine" (WIR). By means of applicability criteria the most suitable biotests are chosen and recommended for the use on the River Rhine. The first results are presented in this paper.