The enhanced chemiluminescence test is based upon monitoring the emission of light from an enhanced chemiluminescence reaction in the presence of an environmental sample and comparing it with a similar reaction using a de-ionized water control sample. The presence of polluting materials can be detected by changes in the intensity and the kinetics of light emission. This trial demonstrated that the effects of components within a sewage-works' effluent are detected by enhanced chemiluminescence and that this test has moderately close correlation with parallel bacterial determinations. A high correlation was achieved between the performances of two commercially available enhanced chemiluminescence reagents, and these reagents responded consistently to the effects of a sewage-works' effluent on the quality of a small river.

Adaptation of the enhanced chemiluminescent reaction (ECLOX test) to water-quality monitoring revealed that pollutants in industrial and domestic effluent and farmyard and dairy washings may suppress or completely inhibit enhanced chemiluminescent light emission. Inhibition or changes in the kinetics of light emission occur in the presence of a wide range of extraneous substances. Interaction of such substances with ECLOX reaction components or reaction intermediates can produce changes in light emission, allowing detection of a broad range of chemical pollutants. This work examined the suitability of the ECLOX test to differentiate between water quality at various points along a rural stream. In addition, the study was used to measure whether changes in water quality detected by the ECLOX test were consistent with measured levels of the protozoan parasite Cryptosporidium parvum. Seven locations along a stream and a farmyard drainage ditch were sampled on the basis of position, continuity of flow, permanence, and evidence of fecal contamination. The stream frequently contained C. parvum (75% of occasions tested), although according to the ECLOX test and other standard parameters (suspended solids and pH), it seemed relatively uncontaminated. The ECLOX test did, however, distinguish among a range of water qualities. The ECLOX test can be considered as a useful qualitative indicator of differing water qualities, but C. parvum can be present in water of any quality; therefore, ECLOX is not an appropriate method for detecting the presence of this parasite. Water Environ. Res., 72, 22 (2000).

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