艾姆斯试验等短期生物测定用于评估特定饮用水污染物以及饮用水浓缩样本的遗传毒性和潜在致癌性。作者讨论了短期测试的发展、局限性和解释；用于预测致癌性的测试的实用性的定性和定量方面；以及使用这些测试分析饮用水潜在健康影响的一般方法。他们得出的结论是，尽管解释方面的不确定性限制了此类测试在风险评估中的应用，但短期测试为公共卫生官员提供了一个有用的工具，可以及时获取信息并降低成本- 关于饮用水潜在健康风险的有效信息。包括47个参考文献和表格。

Short-term bioassays such as the Ames test are used to assess genotoxicity and potential carcinogenicity of specific drinking water contaminants as well as concentrated samples of drinking water. The authors discuss the development, limitations, and interpretation of short-term tests; qualitative and quantitative aspects of the utility of the tests for predicting carcinogenicity; and general approaches to using the tests in analyzing potential health effects of drinking water. They conclude that although uncertainties regarding interpretation limit the application of such tests for risk assessment, short-term tests provide public health officials with a useful tool for obtaining timely and cost-efficient information about potential health risks associated with drinking water. Includes 47 references, tables.