Soil toxicity assessment using acute and chronic bioassays

摘要

Soil ecotoxicity was determined using a range of bioassays. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the effectiveness of bioassays for assessment of the ecotoxicity of soil contaminated with mineral oil. The acute bioassay Microtox was successful in detecting soil toxicity. Chronic bioassays, in which earthworms, springtails or lettuce seeds were directly exposed to soil, showed a good correlation with contaminant levels. On average, the chronic bioassays resulted in a EC50 value of 2,000-3,000 mg mineral oil/kg dw, thus giving ecotoxicological support to the site specific remediation target level of 1,000-1,5000 mg/kg dw. In conclusion a set of bioassays was devleoped that has been proven effective in assessing toxicity of mineral oil soil contamination.