CIEPQPF, Chemical Process Engineering and Forest Products Research Centre. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Coimbra, Rua Sílvio Lima, Pólo II, 3030-790, Coimbra, Portugal.
CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal.
J Environ Manage. 2023 Oct 15;344:118513. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118513. Epub 2023 Jul 5.
The assessment of waste ecotoxicity (hazardous property HP14 in the European Union) is fundamental for proper waste classification and safe application/disposal. Biotests are relevant for evaluating waste complex matrices, but their efficiency is crucial to encourage their adoption at the industrial level. This work aims at evaluating possibilities of improving the efficiency of a biotest battery previously suggested in the literature, regarding test selection, duration, and/or laboratory resources optimization. Fresh incineration bottom ash (IBA) was the case study. The test battery analysed included standard aquatic (bacteria, microalgae, macrophytes, daphnids, rotifers, fairy shrimp) and terrestrial (bacteria, plants, earthworms, collembolans) organisms. The assessment followed an Extended Limit Test design (three dilutions of eluate or solid IBA) and the Lowest Ineffective Dilution (LID-approach) for ecotoxicity classification. The results emphasize the importance of testing different species. It was also evidenced that tests with daphnids and earthworms may be shortened to 24 h; the miniaturization of tests is suitable as e.g. differential sensitivity of microalgae and macrophytes was captured with low variability; alternative testing kits can be used when methodological difficulties are found. Microalgae were more sensitive than macrophytes. Similar results were found for the Thamnotoxkit and daphnids test for eluates with natural pH, so the former may be used as an alternative. B. rapa was the most sensitive organism, suggesting that it may be tested as the only terrestrial plant species and that minimum test duration is appropriate. F. candida does not appear to add information to the battery. The differences in sensitivity of A. fischeri and E. fetida compared to the remaining species were not significant enough to exclude them from the battery. Thus, this work suggests a biotest battery to test IBA comprising aquatic tests - Aliivibrio fischeri, Raphidocelis subcapitata (miniaturised test), and Daphnia magna (24 h when clear deleterious effects are observed) or Thamnocephalus platyurus (toxkit) - and terrestrial tests - Arthrobacter globiformis, Brassica rapa (14 d), and Eisenia fetida (24 h). Testing waste with natural pH is also recommended. The Extended Limit Test design considering the LID-approach seems useful in waste testing, particularly for the industry, involving low effort, test material requirements, and few laboratory resources. The LID-approach allowed for differentiating ecotoxic from non-ecotoxic effects and captured different sensitivities between species. Ecotoxicological assessment of other waste may benefit from these recommendations, but caution should be taken given the properties of each waste type.
废物生态毒性评估（欧盟的危害性特性 14）是废物正确分类和安全应用/处置的基础。生物测试对于评估废物复杂基质非常重要，但为了鼓励在工业层面采用生物测试电池，其效率至关重要。本工作旨在评估改进文献中提出的生物测试电池效率的可能性，包括测试选择、持续时间和/或实验室资源优化。新鲜的焚烧底灰（IBA）是案例研究。分析的测试电池包括标准水生（细菌、微藻、大型植物、水蚤、轮虫、丰年虾）和陆生（细菌、植物、蚯蚓、弹尾目）生物。评估遵循扩展极限测试设计（洗脱液或固体 IBA 的三个稀释度）和最低无效稀释度（LID 方法）进行生态毒性分类。结果强调了测试不同物种的重要性。还证明了用水蚤和蚯蚓进行的测试可以缩短至 24 小时；测试的小型化是合适的，例如微藻和大型植物的差异敏感性可以用低变异性来捕捉；当发现方法学困难时，可以使用替代测试试剂盒。微藻比大型植物更敏感。对于具有自然 pH 的洗脱液，Thamnotoxkit 和水蚤测试也得到了类似的结果，因此前者可用作替代物。油菜是最敏感的生物，表明可以单独测试它作为唯一的陆生植物物种，并且合适的最短测试时间。F. candida 似乎不会为电池增加信息。与其余物种相比，A. fischeri 和 E. fetida 的敏感性差异不够显著，不足以将它们排除在电池之外。因此，本工作建议采用生物测试电池测试 IBA，包括水生测试 - Aliivibrio fischeri、Raphidocelis subcapitata（微型化测试）和 Daphnia magna（当观察到明显的有害影响时为 24 小时）或 Thamnocephalus platyurus（测试套件）- 和陆生测试 - Arthrobacter globiformis、Brassica rapa（14 天）和 Eisenia fetida（24 小时）。还建议测试具有自然 pH 的废物。考虑到 LID 方法的扩展极限测试设计似乎在废物测试中很有用，特别是对于工业而言，它涉及到低工作量、测试材料要求和较少的实验室资源。LID 方法允许区分生态毒性和非生态毒性效应，并捕捉到不同物种之间的敏感性差异。其他废物的生态毒理学评估可能受益于这些建议，但应注意每种废物类型的特性。
