An in situ toxicity identification and evaluation water analysis system: Laboratory validation

• Published in: Environmental toxicology and chemistry Vol. 36; no. 6; pp. 1636 - 1643
• Main Authors: Steigmeyer, August J., Zhang, Jiamin, Daley, Jennifer M., Zhang, Xiaowei, Burton, G. Allen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.06.2017
• Subjects: Animals; Aquatic ecosystems; Aquatic toxicology; Assaying; Biomarkers; chemical analysis; Chronic toxicity; Containers; Ecology; Endocrine‐disrupting compounds; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Environmental protection; Fractionation; Geologic Sediments - chemistry; Information dissemination; Laboratories; Mixture toxicology; Reproducibility of Results; Resins; Risk assessment; sorbents; toxic substances; Toxicants; Toxicity; Toxicity identification evaluation (TIE); uncertainty; United States; United States Environmental Protection Agency; Water - chemistry; Water analysis; Water Pollutants, Chemical - chemistry; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity; United States; Toxicity identification evaluation (TIE); Mixture toxicology; Aquatic toxicology; Endocrine-disrupting compounds; Risk assessment
• ISSN: 0730-7268; 1552-8618; 1552-8618
• DOI: 10.1002/etc.3696

It is difficult to assess the toxicity of a single stressor and establish a strong stressor–causality link when multiple stressors coexist. Toxicity identification evaluation (TIE) methodology uses a series of chemical and physical manipulations to fractionate compounds within a matrix and systematically identify potential toxicants. The current US Environmental Protection Agency application of TIE can provide valuable information but often lacks ecological realism and is subject to laboratory‐related artifacts. An in situ TIE device (iTIED) was designed to assess the sources of toxicity in aquatic ecosystems. For this laboratory validation, each unit was equipped with a sorbent resin chamber, an organism exposure chamber, a water collection container, and a peristaltic pump. Chemical analyses of water processed by each iTIED unit were compared with both lethal and sublethal molecular responses of the organisms. The compound removal effectiveness of different sorbent resins was also compared. In addition to successfully fractionating diverse chemical mixtures, the iTIED demonstrated a potential for early detection of molecular biomarkers, which could identify chronic toxicity that may go unnoticed in traditional TIE assays. Utilizing this novel in situ system will reduce the uncertainty associated with laboratory‐based simulations and aid management efforts in targeting compounds that pose the greatest threat. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:1636–1643. © 2016 SETAC