A current approach to toxicity assessment in industrial effluents

Abstract

In complex mixtures where thousands of compounds co - exist, toxicity control isthe only practical method to determine the hazard that environmental mixtures pose toorganisms. There are two approaches to the assessment and control of toxics: the wholeeffluent approach and the chemical specific approach. However, the substitution ofwhole effluent approach for chemical specific approach has gained increasing popularityduring the last years. The whole effluent, or toxicity based, approach to toxics controlinvolves the use of toxicity tests to measure the toxicity of industrial and municipalwastewater discharges.In this study, the Microtox® Test System, based upon the measurement ofbacterial bioluminescence, was used for the assessment of whole effluent toxicity to limitthe discharge of toxicants in the effluents. The study consisted of, (i) the evaluation ofthe toxicity of effluents of various treatment units in <;erkezkoy CWTP, (ij) the reductionof toxicity by using some of the USEP A recommended strategies. The majority of thestudy was concentrated on the deternlination of the causes and the reduction alternativesof toxicity using bench - scale treatment tests, which provided insight into the treatabilityof the toxicity.Keywords: Toxicity Bioassay, Microtox Test System, Luminescent Bacteria, TIE / TRE,Wastewater Fractionation