Ecological risk assessment of contaminated soils through direct toxicity assessment.
A microcosm (MS-3) with a multispecies soil system is introduced as an experimental tool for direct toxicity assessment of contaminated soils. The capacity of MS-3 to determine soil ecotoxicity potential was evaluated using samples from three sites contaminated with organic and/or inorganic compounds. Soils were toxic to soil-dwelling organisms (earthworm, plants, and microorganisms) and to aquatic organisms (algae and RTG-2 cell fish). As expected, responses varied substantially among different soils and organisms. The application of this evaluation system provided complementary information to the chemical characterization. For soils containing metals the toxic response was lower than predicted from total metal concentrations. For hydrocarbons, the toxicity response agreed with estimated values. The induction of EROD activity suggested the presence of dioxin-like compounds, which had not been addressed in the chemical characterization. The proposed multispecies system affords the measurement of 11 endpoints covering three soil and three aquatic taxonomic groups, reproduces soil conditions and gradients, and appears as an excellent complementary tool to chemical analysis for characterization of contaminated sites.
Fernández
María Dolores
MD
Laboratory for Ecotoxicology, Department of the Environment, INIA, Ctra. A Coruña, km. 7.5, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
Cagigal
Ekain
E
Vega
María Milagrosa
MM
Urzelai
Arantzazu
A
Babín
Mar
M
Pro
Javier
J
Tarazona
José Vicente
JV
D000818:Animals; D001681:Biological Assay; D029688:Brassica napus; D002460:Cell Line; D003621:Daphnia; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D056890:Eukaryota; D005399:Fishes; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000633:toxicity; D008670:Metals / Q000633:toxicity; D009835:Oligochaeta; D010578:Petroleum; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000633:toxicity; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D018675:Toxicity Tests; D029921:Trifolium; D014908:Triticum
D006838:Hydrocarbons; D008670:Metals; D010578:Petroleum; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls