The risk of sodium toxicity from bed accumulation to key species in the vermifiltration wastewater treatment process

• Published in: Bioresource technology Vol. 100; no. 16; pp. 3815 - 3819
• Main Authors: Hughes, R.J., Nair, J., Ho, G.
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01-08-2009; [New York, NY]: Elsevier Ltd; Elsevier
• Subjects: acute toxicity; Analysis of Variance; Animals; Applied sciences; Biological and medical sciences; chronic toxicity; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Eisenia fetida; Electric Conductivity; Exact sciences and technology; Filtration - methods; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; metabolic detoxification; Oligochaeta - drug effects; Pollution; Risk Assessment; Sodium; Sodium - analysis; Sodium - toxicity; sodium chloride; Sodium Chloride - toxicity; Sulfates - toxicity; Toxicity; toxicity testing; Toxicity Tests, Acute; vermicomposting; Vermifiltration; Waste Disposal, Fluid - methods; Wastewater; wastewater treatment; Wastewaters; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity; Water Purification - methods; Water treatment and pollution; Sodium; Wastewater; Toxicity; Risk assessment; Vermifiltration; Risk analysis; Waste water purification; Waste water
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2009.01.017

This study was undertaken to assess the toxicological risks from sodium accumulation in a vermifiltration wastewater treatment system to the key worm species,
Eisenia fetida. The study found that sodium chloride (NaCl) is the more toxic of the common sodium salts found in wastewater to the worms. The research further found that the worms have an ability to detoxify NaCl although reproduction will be impaired if the worms are exposed to moderate concentrations of NaCl for a long period of time. The actual risk from NaCl toxicity in the vermifiltration process was low however. The low risk was due to the low solid-water partitioning constant of NaCl, which led to a very low predicted environmental concentration (PEC) for NaCl.