Assessing acute toxicity of effluent from a textile industry and nearby river waters using sulfur‐oxidizing bacteria in continuous mode

Abstract

Bioassays are becoming an important tool for assessing the toxicity of complex mixtures of substances in aquatic environments in which Daphnia magna is routinely used as a test organism. Bioassays outweigh physicochemical analyses and are valuable in the decision‐making process pertaining to the final discharge of effluents from wastewater treatment plants as they measure the total effect of the discharge which is ecologically relevant. In this study, the aquatic toxicity of a textile plant effluent and river water downstream from the plant were evaluated with sulfur‐oxidizing bacterial biosensors in continuous mode. Collected samples were analysed for different physicochemical parameters and 1,4‐dioxane was detected in the effluent. The effluent contained a relatively high chemical oxygen demand of 60 mg L⁻¹, which exceeded the limit set by the Korean government for industrial effluent discharges. Results showed that both the effluent and river waters were toxic to sulfur‐oxidizing bacteria. These results show the importance of incorporating bioassays to detect toxicity in wastewater effluents for the sustainable management of water resources.

Keywords:

• aquatic organism
• industrial effluent
• sulfur‐oxidizing bacteria
• toxicity
• biosensor

Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the Ministry of Environment Korea and by the Institute of Environmental Research at Kangwon National University (KNU).