Various types of toxicity classification systems have been elaborated by scientists in different countries, with the aim of attributing a hazard score to polluted environments or toxic wastewaters or of ranking them in accordance with increasing levels of toxicity. All these systems are based on batteries of standard acute toxicity tests (several of them including chronic assays as well) and are therefore dependent on the culturing and maintenance of live stocks of test organisms. Most systems require performance of the bioassays on dilution series of the original samples, for subsequent calculation of L(E)C50 or threshold toxicity values. Given the complexity and costs of these toxicity measurements, they can only be applied in well-equipped and highly specialized laboratories, and none of the classification methods so far has found general acceptance at the international level. The development of microbiotests that are independent of continuous culturing of live organisms has stimulated international collaboration. Coordinated at Ghent University, Belgium, collaboration by research groups from 10 countries in central and eastern Europe resulted in an alternative toxicity classification system that was easier to apply and substantially more cost effective than any of the earlier methods. This new system was developed and applied in the framework of a cooperation agreement between the Flemish community in Belgium and central and eastern Europe. The toxicity classification system is based on a battery of (culture-independent) microbiotests and is particularly suited for routine monitoring. It indeed only requires testing on undiluted samples of natural waters or wastewaters discharged into the aquatic environment, except for wastewaters that demonstrate more than 50% effect. The scoring system ranks the waters or wastewaters in 5 classes of increasing hazard/toxicity, with calculation of a weight factor for the concerned hazard/toxicity class. The new classification system was applied during 2000 by the participating laboratories on samples of river water, groundwaters, drinking waters, mine waters, sediment pore waters, industrial effluents, soil leachates, and waste dump leachates and was found to be easy to apply and reliable.

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The selective toxicity of H2O2 was investigated to develop a potential tool for limiting cyanobacterial blooms and to better understand the occurrence of cyanobacteria and other phytoplankton species in relation to reactive oxygen species in surface waters. The cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa, the green alga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata, and the diatom Navicula seminulum were tested under pulse exposure to H202 in the dark and at various irradiances. H2O2 was decomposed at rates depending on algal species and was proportional to irradiance. The cyanobacterium was affected by H202 at 10 times lower concentrations than green alga and diatom, and a strong light-dependent toxicity enhanced the difference. The inhibition was measured as photosynthetic yield (Fv/Fm) in pulse amplitude modulated fluorometry, and was confirmed by changes in minimal fluorescence (F0) and photosynthetic oxygen evolution. Single doses of 0.27 mg L(-1) of H202 caused 50% inhibition to M. aeruginosa at high irradiance. Such concentration overlaps with the highest levels of 0.34 mg L(-1) observed in natural waters, suggesting that H202 may act as a limiting factor for cyanobacterial growth.

Cyanobacterial blooms in freshwaters represent a major ecological and human health problem worldwide. This paper briefly summarizes information on major cyanobacterial toxins (hepatotoxins, neurotoxins etc.) with special attention to microcystins-cyclic heptapeptides with high acute and chronic toxicities. Besides discussion of human health risks, microcystin ecotoxicology and consequent ecological risks are also highlighted. Although significant research attention has been paid to microcystins, cyanobacteria produce a wide range of currently unknown toxins, which will require research attention. Further research should also address possible additive, synergistic or antagonistic effects among different classes of cyanobacterial metabolites, as well as interactions with other toxic stressors such as metals or persistent organic pollutants.