Methods For Toxicity Testing Of Xenobiotics In Wastewater Treatment Plants And In Receiving Water Bodies

Abstract

This paper focuses on conventional and advanced promising methods for the evaluation of toxicity originated by xenobiotics in WWTPs and surface waters. A concise review about toxicity tests applied to activated sludge and to receiving water bodies was presented. Advantages or limitations of the methods were discussed. Both heterotrophic and nitrifying activity were considered. Experimental results on the application to activated sludge of conventional toxicity tests (based on respirometry and bioluminescence) and advanced methods (based on the direct quantification of viable or dead bacteria by using flow cytometry) were presented in this paper. The advantage of respirometry and flow cytometry is related to the use of bacteria present in WWTPs, without need of using pure bacterial strains different from activated sludge.