The Arkansas State University Ecotoxicology Research Facility is a cooperating facility with the Water Quality and Ecology Unit. Under the direction of Dr. Jerry Farris, the ASU-ERF is one of the premier testing and research facilities in the Mid-South. ERF personnel have served with the NSL as interns and visiting scientists. Currently, ERF personnel are involved in research evaluating area rivers and streams in the Yazoo River basin in north Mississippi. Their contributions to the NSL also include toxicity assessments of water and sediments with standardized aquatic test organisms such as aquatic invertebrates and fish. ERF personnel are also nationally respected in research concerning contaminant effects on freshwater mussels.