Biological tools for the assessment of contaminated land: applied soil ecotoxicology

Abstract

Chemical analysis alone is inadequate for comprehensively assessing the impact of soil pollution on biota. The term bioavailability can only be applied in a context specific to a target biological receptor or a proven chemical surrogate. Integration of biological and chemical data can often yield significant advances in hazard assessment and act as a suitable baseline for making site-specific risk assessments. Here, the value of biological techniques is discussed and their application described. The relative merit of test selection is considered and the new direction being developed in sublethal assessments. Currently, however, one of the major limitations is the seeming lack of flexibility of many assays in that they are either applicable to agricultural systems or industrial scenarios, but rarely to both. As a consequence, few assays have internationally adopted protocols. The introduction of new methods and the continued improvement and refinement of assays make this area of soil science dynamic and responsive.

Assessment of a soil with moderate level of contamination using lettuce seed assay and terrestrial isopods assimilation assay

“…Some researches affirm to be unsatisfactory to use a single ecotoxicity test for soil quality assessment, revelling a disproportionate effect on different organisms (Paton et al 2005;Lors et al 2010). Our results reaffirm the view of using different organisms to investigate the soil quality, mainly in soil with moderate or low levels of contamination.…”

“…For the use in environmental evaluation, it is necessary to reunite some features like: to be standardized, simple, low cost, to have a defined endpoint, and be sensitive enough to distinguish differences among sites (Paton et al 2005).…”

Mineralisation of target hydrocarbons in three contaminated soils from former refinery facilities

“…Soil acts as a repository for many hydrocarbons, which is a concern due to their adverse impact on human health and their environmental persistence (Jones et al, 1996;Semple et al, 2001). Consequently, UK legislation has been introduced enforcing that if risk is posed to human, water or ecological receptors, contaminated land must be remediated to a level suitable for use (Paton et al, 2005). Sustainable remediation has therefore become a desirable option for the treatment of hydrocarbon-contaminated soils (Semple et al, 2001).…”

Diferentes tipos de matéria orgânica no ensaio de reprodução da minhoca californiana Eisenia andrei

“…O uso de bioensaios rápidos para detectar alterações causadas por agentes tóxicos no ambiente tem sido frequente em estudos de diagnóstico e monitoramento ambiental (Cotta et al, 2019). Para estes fins, os bioensaios precisam reunir algumas características, tais como: padronização, baixo custo, desfecho bem definido, além de ser suficientemente sensível para distinguir diferenças entre graus de contaminação distintos (Paton et al, 2005). Sendo assim, por meio dos ensaios ecotoxicológicos, são verificados os efeitos das variáveis ambientais capazes de afetar a toxicidade das substâncias disponíveis aos seres vivos de um ecossistema, podendo indicar uma resposta mais precisa da toxicidade dos contaminantes presentes nas Research, Society andDevelopment, v. 9, n. 4, e14942878 (CC BY 4.0) | ISSN 2525-3409 | DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v9i4.2878 4 amostras ambientais.…”