The UM-BBD Predictive Biodegradation Workshop 4

Chemical companies, government regulators, and academic scientists all need to predict the metabolic fate of new chemicals in the environment. The biodegradation knowledge needed includes the pathways of biodegradation, the likelihood of given pathways, and influences of environmental conditions. It is the goal of the third Biodegradation Prediction Workshop to follow up on the first three Predict-BT workshops to:

• Elicit knowledge from panel members to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the existing system.
• Prioritize future PPS developments.
• Decide on potential ways to rationally limit such computer predictions.
• Encouraged further collaboration among the participants on this project.

We appreciate the efforts of the panel members who take the time to work on this project. With over ten million organic compounds known and solid biodegradation information available for perhaps 0.05% of them, our collective ignorance is great. It is in this context that we at Minnesota think that this concerted effort will really make an impact. We hope that we all learn from each other as we work to collectively attain goals that would be beyond any one person.