A novel algal toxicity testing technique for assessing the toxicity of both metallic and organic toxicants.
This study presents a closed-system algal toxicity test technique that is capable of detecting the effects of both organic and metallic toxicants. Toxicity testing was conducted by transferring adequate amounts of algal suspension, dilution water (with culture growth medium), and toxicants into 300-mL BOD bottles. The BOD bottles were completely filled up with no head-space left. The initial cell density and the exposure time were 15,000 cells/mL and 48 h, respectively. The performance of the above test method was evaluated using three heavy metals and six organic toxicants based on three different test endpoints, i.e., dissolved oxygen production, algal growth rate, and cell density. The proposed test revealed excellent test sensitivity and reproducibility. Currently, none of the existing algal toxicity test protocols is adequate for assessing the toxicity of organic chemicals. The closed-system algal toxicity tests developed by previous researchers also may not be ideal because the enlarged headspace and/or enriched bicarbonate buffer may result in either underestimations of the exposure concentrations or insensitive responses to both heavy metals and organic toxicants. Compared to the aforementioned algal toxicity test methods, the proposed technique in the present study has a more general applicability under conditions such as effluent samples containing both metals and organic toxicants or samples with unknown compositions.
Lin
Jui-Ho
JH
Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, 75 Po-Ai Street, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan.
Kao
Wei-Chen
WC
Tsai
Kuo-Pei
KP
Chen
Chung-Yuan
CY
D001555:Benzene Derivatives / Q000633:toxicity; D002021:Buffers; D002104:Cadmium / Q000633:toxicity; D000460:Chlorophyta / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D007854:Lead / Q000633:toxicity; D017693:Sodium Bicarbonate / Q000737:chemistry; D023382:Toxicity Tests, Acute / Q000379:methods*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*; D015032:Zinc / Q000633:toxicity
D001555:Benzene Derivatives; D002021:Buffers; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002104:Cadmium; D007854:Lead; D017693:Sodium Bicarbonate; D015032:Zinc