Use of ecotoxicological bioindicators in effluent monitoring — legal implications in Brazil

Abstract

Environmental changes directly influence quality of life, and environmental protection laws arise to ensure the maintenance of ecological balance. Aquatic environments have been contaminated by substances of anthropic origin, which are called effluents. Improper disposal of effluents has adverse effects on the environment and human health. In Brazilian legislation, the resolutions of the National Council for the Environment (CONAMA) RE 357/2005 and RE 430/2011 address the use of indicator species to evaluate the effluents’ toxicity. Despite these, much still needs to be done to control and monitor the emission of effluents in Brazilian water resources. The objective of this work was to carry out a historical survey of the regulations on the disposal of effluents in Brazil and to show the differences in each state's regulations, highlighting the indicator species accepted in each regulation and their advantages and disadvantages. In this way, this review summarizes and organizes the information of the Brazilian legislation on the disposal of effluents and helps the researcher in the area to choose between the methodologies adopted for the analysis of their environmental samples. Despite the insertion of bioassays, it is evident that the current Brazilian legislation is permissive, requiring adaptations and definitions to increase adherence to the ecotoxicological monitoring of water resources by the States.