I worked briefly in the toxicology division of a wildlife research
center operated by the U.S. Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. I'm not sure
about what kind of positions are available in Europe and Canada, but I
can tell you a little about what I did and answer at least one of your
questions (the one about toxin tests on animals).
I did enzyme assays on liver samples taken from water fowl from "clean"
and "contaminated" sites. We were trying to determine if the level of
certain enzymes would correlate with the presence of certain organic
contaminants (polyaromatic hydrocarbons) with the eventual hope of being
able to use this as a marker for how far such compounds have spread in
the wild. The first phase of the experiment involved dosing mallard
ducks with known amounts of PAHs. Other groups in the center were
studying the effect of PCBs on raptors and were dosing kestral chicks
with various compounds. I guess this would be considered
eco-toxicology, but many of the staff had degrees in other feilds (such
as biochemistry or embryology). Most of the field workers (the people
that brought me my liver samples) had B.S. degrees in environmental
science, ecology or the like. I got the impression that government jobs
of this sort are tough to come by. I don't know about Hospital
toxicology and as I already mentioned I don't know about Europe/Canada.
I went to one toxicology conference while I was working on this job and
I'll dig out the information/address of the toxicology society that
sponsored it if you'd like.
