About us
Our Mission
The Ecotox Centre is the centre for applied ecotoxicology in Switzerland. Its goals are to detect and assess the environmental effects of chemicals and to develop strategies for minimising their risk. With its focus on knowledge management/knowledge and technology transfer the Centre represents an important bridge between research and practice. The Ecotox Centre shares and transfers expert knowledge and teaches professional skills. It is engaged in practice-oriented education and professional development and provides information to the public. The Ecotox Centre has its main premises at Eawag in Dübendorf, with a second group, focusing on soil and sediment ecotoxicology, at the EPFL in Lausanne.
Our Origin
The Ecotox Centre was founded as an institution within the ETH Domain in 2008 by order of the Swiss Federal Council and Parliament to ensure practice-oriented research, services and continuing education in the field of ecotoxicology in the future. The Swiss Centre for Applied Human Toxicology (SCAHT) was founded in 2009 as a complement for the area of human toxicology
October 2008
Ecotox Centre Opens
The Ecotox Centre is opened in the presence of the National Councillor Ms. Maya Graf, who gave the political impetus for the foundation of the Ecotox Center through her motion “Independent toxicology research in Switzerland” in 2002.
May 2007
Federal Council Report on Independent Toxicology Research in Switzerland
The core tasks of the Ecotox Centre defined by the Federal Council include: Ensure practice-oriented continuing education and training; develop new ecotoxicological test and assessment methods; perform investigations into the early detection of environmental risks and develop the necessary methods; serve as an advisory, contact and knowledge hub for ecotoxicologal questions
Federal Council Report (PDF) (in German)
January 2007
Dispatch on the Promotion of Education, Research and Innovation in the Years 2008 to 2011
The Federal Council commissions the ETH Council with the task of establishing a “Swiss research and service centre for ecotoxicology” at Eawag and EPFL and reserves annual funding of 2 million Swiss francs in the fiscal planning 2008-2011 for this purpose.
Federal Council Message (in German)
March 2002
Motion on “Independent Toxicology Research in Switzerland”
In the so-called “Motion Graf”, various parliamentarians call for a Federal Council report regarding the guarantee of independent science, research and information in the different fields of toxicology
Motion (in German)
Our Origin
The Ecotox Centre was founded as an institution within the ETH Domain in 2008 by order of the Swiss Federal Council and Parliament to ensure practice-oriented research, services and continuing education in the field of ecotoxicology in the future.