Methodological protocol for assessing the environmental footprint by means of ecotoxicological tools: wastewater treatment plants as an example case

The ecotoxicological tools reveal to be profitably employable within the assessment of the so-called environmental footprint, which is commonly based on the results of a chemical monitoring. Due to the heterogeneity of biological endpoints and the possibility to explore several exposure frames, as well as to consider higher levels of organization (from cells to organisms and mesocosms), the definition of a protocol is desirable.