Premium
Toxicology evaluation of Atlantic Canadian seafood processing plant effluent
Author(s) -
Jamieson Bryan Lee,
Gonçalves Alex Augusto,
Gag Graham A.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
environmental toxicology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.813
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1522-7278
pISSN - 1520-4081
DOI - 10.1002/tox.20479
Subject(s) - effluent , environmental science , fishery , ecology , biology , toxicology , environmental chemistry , environmental engineering , chemistry
The purpose of this study was to carry out an acute aquatic toxicity assessment on select effluent samples from Atlantic Canadian seafood processing plants. Raw effluent acute aquatic toxicity for the flatfish and salmon effluents was assessed using the acute lethality test and Microtox™ test. The effectiveness of dissolved air flotation treatment (DAF) in removing acute toxicity from these effluents was evaluated using the Microtox™ test. The salmon effluent failed the acute lethality test using rainbow trout while the flatfish effluent showed acute toxicity in the Microtox™ test with a 50% inhibiting concentration (IC 50 ) of 38.84%. Subsequent treatment by DAF of the flatfish and salmon effluents increased IC 50 values by 20% and 26% respectively. The findings of this study indicate that all of the processing effluents sampled showed characteristics that could potentially degrade effluent receiving waters and acute toxicity was demonstrated in the two raw finfish effluents. Application of DAF treatment was successful in significantly increasing Microtox™ IC 50 values, thereby reducing acute toxicity, but failed to entirely remove acute toxicity. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol, 2010.