Ecotoxicological evaluation of the residuals of Analytical Chemistry Laboratory

Abstract

Bioassays are an excellent tool in environmental risk assessment. The objective of the present work was to carry out ecotoxicological tests with the purpose of deducting the effect that the residuals of the Analytical Chemistry laboratory can have on the ecosystem from the consequences that it produces on a population of organisms that are a fundamental part of the trophic chain. The bioassays of acute toxicity laboratory with larvae of Artemia sp and with lettuce seeds (Lactuca sativa L.). Four concentrations of the study residual were tested: 5, 25, 50 and 100 %, with three replicates each and a control group. In the Artemia sp assay, 100 % mortality was obtained in all tested concentrations of the residual tested. Regarding the test with lettuce seeds, phytotoxic effects were evidenced, for the evaluated concentrations of the residual, causing inhibition in germination, in the elongation of the root and hypocotyl. In addition anomalies were found in the organs of growth of the plants in the concentrations of 5 and 25%. It is demonstrated that the residuals obtained in the laboratory of Analytical Chemistry of TOXIMED have toxic effects both for aquatic and terrestrial environments.