Watertox toxicity testing battery

THE APPLICATION OF HAZARD ASSESSMENT SCHEMES USING THE WATERTOX TOXICITY TESTING BATTERY... 

The WaterTox battery, comprising standardized toxicity tests which have undergone intercalibration exercises, is simple to use, scientifically robust, cost-effective and user-friendly. Applications of different Hazard Assessment Schemes using the battery of test approach are discussed. 

The application of a core battery of WaterTox Program toxicity tests were applied to different types of samples by three South American laboratories. The core battery included the following tests ... 

The International Development Research Centre (IDRC, Ottawa, Canada) created an international network of laboratories (WaterTox) whose goal was to identify and use a battery of toxicity tests which were simple and easy to use, affordable, yet sensitive and reliable, for water toxicity testing (Forget et al., 2000). In the original WaterTox battery (Phase I) the following toxicity tests were used ... 

After completion of the WaterTox program, the test battery continued to be applied by laboratories from Argentina, Chile and Colombia to assess different types of environmental matrices. These initiatives facilitated the development or application of new or existing ranking systems that enabled evaluation of the effectiveness of biological treatment for the toxicity reduction of wastes and combined effluents. These studies are described herein. 

Table 1. Characteristics of small-scale toxicity tests used in the WaterTox battery of tests.

The development or application of new or existing toxicity ranking systems, based on the use of a battery of tests inspired by the WaterTox Program are presented. 

Applying the WaterTox battery of tests in Argentina, Chile and Colombia for toxicity assessment of chemical contaminants present in different types of complex matrices by means of existing, modified or developed HAS approaches has proven to be environmentally beneficial. Water and wastewater samples, sewage sludge and biosolids from municipal treatment plants and effluent toxic loads, as well as pure compounds, were effectively scored as toxic or non-toxic with the ranking systems employed, thereby allowing them to be differentiated in terms of their adverse potential. In all cases, similar bioanalytical tools were employed to conduct these evaluations. 

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