Development of automated methods of identifying toxicants in the environment

• Published in: Bulletin of environmental contamination and toxicology Vol. 54; no. 1; pp. 104 - 111
• Main Authors: FORT, D. J, DELPHON, J, POWERS, C. R, HELEMS, R, GONZALEZ, R, STOVER, E. L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Springer-Verlag 1995
• Subjects: Ammonia - analysis; Ammonia - toxicity; Analysis methods; Animals; Applied sciences; Automation; Bacteria - drug effects; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Chromatography, Ion Exchange; Contamination; Copper - analysis; Copper - toxicity; Cost-Benefit Analysis; Cyprinidae; Daphnia; Diazinon - analysis; Diazinon - toxicity; Exact sciences and technology; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Natural water pollution; Pentachlorophenol - analysis; Pentachlorophenol - toxicity; Pollution; Q1; Reference Standards; Reproducibility of Results; Sodium Chloride - analysis; Sodium Chloride - toxicity; Toxicity; Toxins, Biological - analysis; Toxins, Biological - toxicity; United States; United States Environmental Protection Agency; Water analysis; Water treatment and pollution; United States; Automation; Ion chromatography; Chemical analysis; Analysis method; Toxicity; HPLC chromatography; Qualitative analysis; Water pollution
• ISSN: 0007-4861; 1432-0800
• DOI: 10.1007/BF00196276

Many NPDES permits today require the development of Toxicity Reduction Evaluation (TRE) programs designed to reduce toxicity to acceptable levels when effluent toxicity is detected. The first of two approaches commonly used in the abatement of effluent toxicity is treatment without the specific identification and confirmation of the causative toxicants. The second method involves specific identification and confirmation of the causative toxicants with the goal of locating and eliminating the problem at its source. Specific methods for characterizing, identifying and confirming causative toxicants were developed by USEPA in the late 1980s. These procedures typically entail manual physical/chemical manipulation of a toxic sample followed by toxicity assessment and analytical analysis in three separate steps. The need for more rapid, cost-effective, and analytical methods of identifying environmental toxicants warranted the development of automated procedures using commercially available equipment and techniques. In this report, the development and preliminary validation of an automated identification methodology for water-borne toxicants using an Ion Chromatography/High Pressure Liquid Chromatograph (IC/HPLC) is presented. Development of the methodology included testing the system with synthetic media blanks to ensure that the equipment was not introducing toxicity, as well as evaluating the purity of the samples prepared. Ammonia, dissolved solids, copper, pentachlorophenol, and diazinon toxicant standards, as well as a composited mixture of the individual toxicants, were also used to develop and fine-tune the operation of the automated system. Preliminary validation of the automated methodology was performed by comparing the results obtained from toxicity identification studies with an industrial wastewater effluent using conventional methods to studies employing the newly developed automated methods. Preliminary results indicated that the automated approach will provide the scientific community with a rapid, cost-effective, automated method for performing standard toxicity identification studies.