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Clean-up of contaminated soils became a high priority only recently. Several techniques have been developed forthis purpose such as chemical, physical, thermic or microbiological methods. Efficiency of the remediation can be estimated using two approaches : a chemical specific approach and a toxicity-based approach. So far, the efficiency of the decontamination process was based essentially on chemical analyses which does not integrale the toxicity of all the soil contaminants and does not give a response on effects caused by the bioavailable fraction of these contaminants äs the toxicity-based approach. In the present study, bioremediation efficiency of a soil contaminated by 4-chlorobiphenyl was evaluated using chemical and biological analyses. Experiments were carried out in microcosms contaminated at a rate of 1 g/kg. Control microcosms without specific degrader were performed simultaneously. Acute toxicity to earthworms and inhibition of growth of barley roots were selected, from previous work, äs relevant ecotoxicological teste

International audience; In order to set the parameters of the experiments, the study was first carried out in artificial soil microcosms contaminated with 4-chlorobiphenyl. A biphenyl degrader, Pseudomonas sp. B4, was introduced into the microcosm and its presence was checked by microbiological and molecular methods.