Use of various acute, sublethal and early life‐stage tests to evaluate the toxicity of refinery effluents

Abstract

The toxicities of effluents from three Ontario, Canada, refineries were assessed with microbes, plants, invertebrates, and fish. Acute toxicity was assessed by the Microtox test, an assay based on electron transport activity in submitochondrial particles, and Daphnia magna (water flea) and Oncorhynchus mykiss (rainbow trout, 96-h exposure) bioassays. Short-term toxic effects were measured with bioassays of growth and survival of Pimephales promelas (fathead minnow) larvae; survival and reproduction of Ceriodaphnia dubia (water flea); growth of Selenastrum capricornutum (alga); growth of Lemna minor (aquatic plant); germination of Lactuca sativa (nonaquatic plant); survival, growth, and maturation of Panagrellus redivivus (nematode); and genotoxicity in the SOS-Chromotest. Only the Microtox test and the submitochondrial particle test detected acute toxicity in the effluent samples. Reduced survival and sublethal responses were caused by some effluents, but not all effluents were toxic, and none caused a response in all of the tests applied. The results suggest that the effluent treatment systems used at Ontario refineries have largely eliminated acute toxicity to the organisms in our test battery. Although reduced survival and sublethal effects were detected in some of the effluents, the effects were minor. Some of the tests provided evidence, albeit weak, of variations in the responses of the test organisms to a temporal series of effluent samples. Not unexpectedly, there were also minor differences in the responses of the tests to effluents from the three refineries. The fathead minnow test seems to be a sensitive indicator of the sublethal toxicity of Ontario refinery effluents.

Growth of Fathead Minnows in Oilsand-Processed Wastewater in Laboratory and Field

“…Studies have identified fathead minnow survival to be the most sensitive endpoint in petroleum refinery-effluent testing [5], and both Woltering [22] and Mayer et al [23] determined that larval survival was a more sensitive bioassay endpoint than was growth. One 7d growth and survival bioassay (SGS2) did result in significantly lower survival of fish exposed to SCL7 (MFT capped with expressed water) and SCL10 (MFT capped with TPW); however, this result has yet to be repeated.…”

“…The wide natural distributions of this species also make it an ecologically relevant species for many areas in North America [4]. sitivity to effluent exposure when assays with other organisms displayed none [5,6]. Studies performed with effluent produced by petroleum refineries in Ontario, Canada, have found the 7-d fathead minnow bioassay to be a useful test in establishing sublethal toxicity of effluent; this bioassay showed sen-* To whom correspondence may be addressed (cindy.paszkowski@ualberta.ca).…”

Repeatability of the Submitochondrial Particle Assay

“…A number of recent studies have advocated the use of the in vitro submitochondrial particle (SMP) assays as candidates for biological monitoring and environmental assessments based on their sensitivity, rapidity, simplicity, and signi"cant correlation with the responses of more traditional whole organism assays (Bettermann et al, 1996;Dutka et al, 1996;Sherry et al, 1997;Read et al, 1998). SMPs are isolates of the inner membranes of mammalian mitochondria containing several membrane-bound multisubunit protein complexes that retain the capacity to conduct electron transfer and oxidative phosphorylation.…”

“…Among several studies in which the SMP assay was compared to the luminescent marine bacteria <ibrio ,scheri, commercially known as Microtox (see also Sherry et al, 1997;Gustavson et al, 1998). Weideborg et al (1997) reported that the two assays were comparably sensitive in tests with scale and corrosion inhibitors, biocides, emulsion breakers, and #occulants and that both were suitable screening tests in comparison with a marine algae, two pelagic crustaceans, and a deposit feeding mollusc.…”

A new short-term toxicity assay using Aspergillus awamori with recombinant aequorin gene

“…The widespread use and release of natural and synthetic chemicals into the environment, singly or as complex domestic and industrial effluents, has necessitated the development of rapid and cost effective toxicity tests to protect humans and other biota [1,2]. Short-term and long-term bioassays exist utilising microorganisms, invertebrates and higher plants and animals.…”