This volume results from a conference jointly sponsored by the Biotechnology Unit of the Government Chemist and the Society for Applied Bacteriology. ATP (Adenosine TriPhosphate - the basic molecule of energy) luminscence technology is an effective and rapid method for assaying microbial numbers. Although developed in the 1970s, only recently has the method been made reliable. This volume covers a broad range of topics concerned with this form of rapid microbiology. It contains detailed coverage of the most recent advances made in this area edited by the major authorities in the field.