title: Ecotoxicological and genotoxic assessment of hospital laundry wastewaters.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to assess the ecotoxicity and genotoxicity of hospital laundry wastewaters generated from a regional hospital located in Rio Pardo Valley in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Physicochemical, microbiological, ecotoxicological, and genotoxic analyses were performed, and the results indicate that some parameters were not in accordance with the limit concentrations established by Brazilian and international guidelines for urban wastewaters. Daphnia magna (EC50 2.01%) and Danio rerio (LC50 29.25%) acute toxicity was detected, and sublethal effects were identified in Lactuca sativa (IC25 12.50%) and Allium cepa (IC25 51.25%). Cytotoxicity was observed at the five wastewater concentrations used yielding statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in the meristematic cells of A. cepa compared with the negative control. The results obtained here warn about the necessity to develop treatment methods that can mitigate the environmental impacts caused by the ecotoxicity and genotoxicity of hospital laundry wastewaters.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Environmental Technology, Universidade de Santa Cruz do Sul, UNISC, Av. Independência, 2293, Bairro Universitário, CEP, Santa Cruz do Sul, RS, 96815-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Deivid Ismael
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Kern
authors.forename: Rômulo de Oliveira
authors.initials: Rde O
authors.lastname: Schwaickhardt
authors.forename: Carlos Alexandre
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Lutterbeck
authors.forename: Lourdes Teresinha
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Kist
authors.forename: Eduardo Alexis Lobo
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Alcayaga
authors.forename: Ênio Leandro
authors.initials: ÊL
authors.lastname: Machado
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D004249:DNA Damage; D003621:Daphnia; D054750:Ecotoxicology; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006761:Hospitals; D007847:Laundry Service, Hospital; D009152:Mutagenicity Tests; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical