Abstract
Assessing toxic hazards associated with polluted riverine ecosystems is essential for the development of effective strategies for their management. The present study explored the combined utility of bioassay responses of the plant, Allium cepa and surface water physico-chemical characteristics to assess the toxic hazards of an industrial waste receiving canal system located in the lower catchment of the Kelani River basin, Sri Lanka. Surface water samples from seven sites, viz. Maha Ela upstream (Site A), Manikagara Ela (Site B), Manikagara Ela - Maha Ela confluence (Site C), Maha Ela downstream (Site D), Maha Ela - Kelani River confluence (Site E), River downreach (Site F) and upper-reach (Site R) were analysed on three occasions in 2015 covering dry and wet periods. Irrespective of the sampling periods, exposure of A. cepa bulbs to water from the Sites B, C, D and E resulted in root growth retardation and mitosis depression (p
Highlights
Pollution trend assessments are important for effective management of riverine ecosystems impacted by the contaminants from anthropogenic activities (Kara et al, 2017; Barrenha et al, 2018; Wu et al, 2018)
The objective of this study was to explore the combination of A. cepa bioassay responses and physico-chemical analyses of surface waters to evaluate the pollution status and toxic hazard pattern of waterways impacted by the treated effluent discharges from a leading industrial zone located in the Kelani River basin, Sri Lanka
Recent bioassay studies revealed that final effluents of the common wastewater treatment plants of some industrial zones pose cytogenotoxic hazards (Pathiratne et al, 2015; Hemachandra & Pathiratne, 2017b; 2018)
Summary
Pollution trend assessments are important for effective management of riverine ecosystems impacted by the contaminants from anthropogenic activities (Kara et al, 2017; Barrenha et al, 2018; Wu et al, 2018). The plant, Allium cepa has been identified as an effective, economical and sensitive model to detect cytotoxic and genotoxic hazards in environmental samples (Leme & Marine-Morales, 2009; Pathiratne et al, 2015) and can be used as a low cost and simple tool for toxicity assessment of surface waters in developing countries (Hemachandra & Pathiratne, 2017a). The river water is used for drinking, domestic, agricultural and other purposes (Silva, 1996). Kelani River is considered as the largest recipient of industrial waste in the country (Ileperuma, 2000). The River is becoming polluted with multiple sources including industrial, urban and agricultural waste (Mahagamage & Manage, 2014; Mahagamage et al, 2016). Several water intake points are located in the Kelani River for provision of drinking water supply to the general
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