title: Ecotoxicological assessment of the potential impact on soil porewater, surface and groundwater from the use of organic wastes as soil amendments.
abstract: This study aimed to assess the potential impact on soil porewater, surface and groundwater from the beneficial application of organic wastes to soil, using their eluates and acute bioassays with aquatic organisms and plants: luminescence inhibition of Vibrio fischeri (15 and 30 min), Daphnia magna immobilization (48 h), Thamnocephalus platyurus survival (24 h), and seed germination of Lolium perenne (7 d) and Lactuca sativa (5 d). Some organic wastes' eluates promoted high toxic responses, but that toxicity could not be predicted by their chemical characterization, which is compulsory by regulatory documents. In fact, when organisms were exposed to the water-extractable chemical compounds of the organic wastes, the toxic responses were more connected to the degree of stabilization of the organic wastes, or to the treatment used to achieve that stabilization, than to their contaminant load. That is why the environmental risk assessment of the use of organic wastes as soil amendments should integrate bioassays with eluates, in order to correctly evaluate the effects of the most bioavailable fraction of all the chemical compounds, which can be difficult to predict from the characterization required in regulatory documents. According to our results, some rapid and standardized acute bioassays can be suggested to integrate a Tier 1 ecotoxicological evaluation of organic wastes with potential to be land applied, namely luminescence inhibition of V. fischeri, D. magna immobilization, and the germination of L. perenne and L. sativa.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Tecnologias e Ciências Aplicadas, Escola Superior Agrária, Instituto Politécnico de Beja, Rua Pedro Soares S/N, Apartado 6155, 7800-295 Beja, Portugal; LEAF - Centro de Investigação em Agronomia, Alimentos, Ambiente e Paisagem, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisboa, Portugal. Electronic address: paula.alvarenga@ipbeja.pt.
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Alvarenga
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Tecnologias e Ciências Aplicadas, Escola Superior Agrária, Instituto Politécnico de Beja, Rua Pedro Soares S/N, Apartado 6155, 7800-295 Beja, Portugal.
authors.forename: Clarisse
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mourinha
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Tecnologias e Ciências Aplicadas, Escola Superior Agrária, Instituto Politécnico de Beja, Rua Pedro Soares S/N, Apartado 6155, 7800-295 Beja, Portugal.
authors.forename: Márcia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Farto
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Tecnologias e Ciências Aplicadas, Escola Superior Agrária, Instituto Politécnico de Beja, Rua Pedro Soares S/N, Apartado 6155, 7800-295 Beja, Portugal; CIMA-Centro de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, CIMA, FCT, Edifício 7, Piso 1, Universidade do Algarve, Campus Universitário de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Patrícia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Palma
authors.affiliation: Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Joana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sengo
authors.affiliation: Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Marie-Christine
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Morais
authors.affiliation: LEAF - Centro de Investigação em Agronomia, Alimentos, Ambiente e Paisagem, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisboa, Portugal; Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cunha-Queda
mesh_terms: D048908:Aliivibrio fischeri / Q000187:drug effects; D000818:Animals; D001681:Biological Assay / Q000379:methods; D003621:Daphnia / Q000187:drug effects; D054750:Ecotoxicology / Q000379:methods*; D018525:Germination / Q000187:drug effects; D018545:Lactuca / Q000187:drug effects; D008129:Lolium / Q000187:drug effects; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000633:toxicity*; D011174:Portugal; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity; D014866:Waste Products / Q000009:adverse effects*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000633:toxicity; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D009930:Organic Chemicals; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014866:Waste Products; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Acute aquatic bioassays; Compost; Ecototoxicity; Eluates; Organic waste; Sewage sludge