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.