SIST EN ISO 11268-1:2015

Overview

EN ISO 11268-1:2015 - "Soil quality - Effects of pollutants on earthworms - Part 1" specifies a standardized method to determine acute toxicity to Eisenia fetida / Eisenia andrei. Adopted by CEN from ISO 11268-1:2012, this standard is used to evaluate the habitat function of soils and to assess acute lethal effects of soil contaminants and chemicals by dermal and alimentary uptake. It applies to contaminated soils, amended soils, post-remediation soils, agricultural sites, and waste materials, using either a comparable reference soil or a standard/artificial soil as control.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Test organisms: Adult earthworms Eisenia fetida and Eisenia andrei as indicator species.
• Exposure routes: Dermal and alimentary uptake in soil matrix.
• Substrates: Preferably a defined artificial soil; for contaminated soils use the test soil and a control (reference or standard soil).
• Endpoints and metrics: Survival, mortality, LC50 (median lethal concentration expressed as % test soil in test mixture), LOEC/NOEC, and limit tests (minimum four replicates).
• Design elements: Replicates, dilution series for contaminated soils, control treatments, and statistical analysis guidance for single- and multi-concentration tests.
• Limitations: Not applicable to volatile substances (Henry’s constant or air/water partition coefficient > 1, or vapour pressure > 0.0133 Pa at 25 °C). The method does not account for chemical degradation during the test.
• Supplementary guidance: Annexes cover tropical testing conditions, culturing of test species, water-holding capacity of artificial soil, and example case data (e.g., boric acid).
• Normative references: Linked ISO soil-method standards for sampling, pH, carbon, texture, WHC and moisture determination (e.g., ISO 10381-6, 10390, 10694, 11260, 11277, 11465).

Practical applications

• Regulatory and monitoring assessment of contaminated sites and soil remediation effectiveness.
• Screening acute toxicity of chemicals, pesticides and waste materials in soil matrices.
• Baseline habitat-function evaluation for environmental impact assessments and land‑use decisions.
• Laboratory ecotoxicology studies under temperate and tropical test conditions.

Who should use this standard

• Environmental testing laboratories and ecotoxicologists.
• Remediation consultants and contaminated land assessors.
• Regulatory agencies setting soil quality criteria and permit conditions.
• Researchers studying soil fauna responses to pollutants.

Related standards

• EN/ISO 11268-2 (reproduction effects), EN/ISO 11268-3 (field guidance)
• ISO 15799 and ISO 17616 (context on bioassays and complementary chemical analysis)

Keywords: EN ISO 11268-1:2015, soil quality, earthworm toxicity test, Eisenia fetida, Eisenia andrei, acute toxicity, artificial soil, contaminated sites, soil ecotoxicology.