An alternative for NOEC exists, but the standard model has to be
replaced first
Kooijman, S. A. L. M. 1996. An alternative for NOEC exists, but the
standard model has to be replaced first. Oikos, 75: 310
- 316
Abstract
Ryszard Laskowski discussed the bad properties of the No Observed
Effect Concentration (NOEC) in the last issue of Oikos (Laskowski,
1995). I fully agree with him that the NOEC should be banned. Within
the OECD and SETAC, discussions have been initiated to replace the
NOEC by a `small'-effect concentration (EC5 or EC10), but I will argue
that this alternative is also far from ideal and propose a better
alternative: the No Effect Concentration (NEC). It cannot be
implemented successfully in the standard log-logistic or log-probit
model. This is, however, hardly a handicap, because the biological
foundations of those models are anyway extremely shaky.