Search results for "ecotoxicity"

Toxicity assessment and biodegradation potential of water-soluble sludge containing 2,4,6-trinitrotoluen

2013

The water-soluble phase of trinitrotoluene-containing sludge (SLP) was characterized with regard to trinitrotoluene (TNT) concentration, ecotoxicity, and a model biodegradation experiment as evaluation criteria for further development of appropriate treatment technologies. SLP contained 67.8 mg TNT/l. The results of germination and root-elongation tests indicated that SLP had a species-specific phytotoxic effect. The results of a 21 day degradation experiment demonstrated TNT conversion to 4-amino-2,6-DNT and 2-amino-4,6-DNT, with a simultaneous reduction in the total concentration of nitroaromatics. Addition of inoculum stimulated the TNT degradation process. The presence of the sludge sol…

Occurrence, distribution, and risk assessment of pharmerciuticals in wastewater and open surface drains of peri-urban areas: Case study of Juja town,…

2020

Abstract The occurrence of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) in the environment is becoming a major area of concern due to their undesirable effects on non-target organisms. This study investigated the occurrence and risk of contamination by five antibiotics and three antiretrovirals drugs in a fast-growing peri-urban area in Kenya, with inadequate sewer system coverage. Due to poor sewage connectivity and poorly designed decentralized systems, wastewater is directly released in open drains. Water and sediment samples were collected from open surface water drains, while wastewater samples were collected from centralized wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). Solid-phase extraction and u…

Ecotoxicity of halloysite nanotube-supported palladium nanoparticles inRaphanus sativusL

2016

Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) are natural nanomaterials that are biocompatible and available in large amounts at low prices. They are emerging nanomaterials with appealing properties for applications like support for metal nanoparticles (NPs). The potential environmental impacts of NPs can be understood in terms of phytotoxicity. Current research has been focusing on HNT applications in cell or animal models, while their use in plants is limited so their ecotoxicological impact is poorly documented. To date there are no studies on the phytotoxic effects of functionalized halloysites (functionalized-HNTs). To develop a quantitative risk assessment model for predicting the potential impact of H…

Assessment of ecotoxicity and total volatile organic compound (TVOC) emissions from food and children's toy products

2018

The development of new methods for identifying a broad spectrum of analytes, as well as highly selective tools to provide the most accurate information regarding the processes and relationships in the world, has been an area of interest for researchers for many years. The information obtained with these tools provides valuable data to complement existing knowledge but, above all, to identify and determine previously unknown hazards. Recently, attention has been paid to the migration of xenobiotics from the surfaces of various everyday objects and the resulting impacts on human health. Since children are among those most vulnerable to health consequences, one of the main subjects of interest…

Acute toxicity tests using earthworms to estimate ecological quality of compost and digestate

2017

Ecological quality of compost and digestate, used as fertilizers for agricultural use, was assessed through an acute ecotoxicological bioassay testing the earthworm Eisenia fetida (Annelida). The test evaluates the earthworm’s attitude to dig within 15 min into a soil medium constituted by a mixture of a standardized soil and different concentrations of compost/digestate. According to different classes of behavior responses, the sample is classified as good or bad quality (ON/OFF). The validity of this test was confirmed comparing the observations with the results from a standard chronic test developed by OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). Considering samples fro…

Gluconic acid for eco-friendly Ionic Liquids: chemical and biological investigations

Ionic liquids (ILs) are employed in several fields thanks to their well-known properties. For a long time, ILs were considered the “green” alternative to conventional organic solvents.1 However, the increasing attention on environmental health led to consider different ILs structures and alternative synthetic pathways. Considering the tunability of IL structures, new synthetic approaches with natural sources as starting materials were taken into account.2 Here, new eco-friendly ILs were synthesised using gluconic acid. The structures carry gluconic moiety on the cation or as the anion (Figure 1). Hence, several OH groups decrease toxicity and shape a high coordinative site. These new organi…

Chromatographic evaluation of the toxicity in fish of pesticides

2004

Abstract Ecotoxicity assessment is essential before placing new chemical substances on the market. An investigation of the use of the chromatographic retention (log k) in biopartitioning micellar chromatography (BMC) as an in vitro approach to evaluate the toxicity in fish of pesticides (acute toxicity levels as pLC50) is proposed. A heterogeneous data set of 85 pesticides from six chemical families with available experimental fish toxicity data (ECOTOX database from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)) was used. For pesticides exhibiting non-polar narcosis mechanism in fish (non-specific toxicity), more reliable models and precise pLC50 estimations are obtained from log k (quantitat…

Sediment quality of the ecoregion Engure, Gulf of Riga, assessed by using ecotoxicity tests and biomarker responses

2014

Pētījuma mērķis bija novērtēt Engures ekoreģiona (Rīgas līča rietumu piekrastes) sedimentu kvalitāti, izmantojot sedimentu ekotoksicitātes testus. Lai noteiktu bioloģiskās atbildes reakcijas uz dažāda veida stresoriem, kā testorganismi pielietotas sānpeldes Monoporeia affinis and Pontogammarus robustoides, un izvēlēti biomarķieri (AChE, GST, GR, CAT, MT), kas noteikti gliemenēs Macoma balthica. Engures ekoreģionu varētu uzskatīt par nepiesārņotu rajonu, jo tā sedimentus raksturo salīdzinoši zemas smago metālu koncentrācijas. Engures ekoreģiona sedimentu ekotoksicitātes testu rezultāti neuzrādīja statistiski būtisku (>20% mirstība) toksisko efektu. Testorganismu izdzīvotība bija robežās no 8…

Ecotoxicity assessment of boreal lake sediments affected by metal mining: Sediment quality triad approach complemented with metal bioavailability and…

2019

Highlights • Ecological risk assessment of metal-contaminated boreal lakes and sediments. • Sediment Quality Triad complemented with bioavailability and body residue studies. • Toxicity studies for natural sediments with several organisms and endpoints • Adverse effects observed. High variation on results between different methods. • Standard toxicity tests not suitable for testing, too low pH hampers the results. There are several methods for studying metal-contaminated freshwater sediments, but more information is needed on which methods to include in ecological risk assessment. In this study, we compliment the traditional Sediment Quality Triad (SQT) approach – including information on c…

When the functionalisation comes in useful: ionic liquids with a “sweet” appended moiety demonstrate drastically reduced toxicological effects

2020

The growing number of applications of ionic liquids (ILs) in industry have brought attention to the green credentials of synthesis, as well as their cytotoxicities and ecotoxicities both for their use and accidental leakage into the environment. With the abovementioned properties in mind, we designed a class of ILs with either cations bearing a gluconamide motif and aliphatic side chains or the anion incorporating a gluconic acid (derived from food waste) moiety. An IL with an imidazolium cation with an appended gluconic amide (bearing five hydroxyl groups) moiety was also synthesized for a useful comparison. Different structural features were considered, placing emphasis on the nature and …