A bacterium-based contact assay for evaluating the quality of solid samples–Results from an international ring-test

• Published in: Journal of hazardous materials Vol. 352; pp. 139 - 147
• Main Authors: Marques, Catarina R., El-Azhari, Najoi, Martin-Laurent, Fabrice, Pandard, Pascal, Meline, Camille, Petre, Alice L., Eckert, Suzanne, Zipperle, Jürgen, Váňa, Martin, Maly, Stanislav, Šindelářová, Lucie, Amemori, Anna Slavíková, Hofman, Jakub, Kumar, Anu, Doan, Hai, McLaughlin, Mike, Richter, Elizabeth, Römbke, Jörg
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 15.06.2018; Elsevier
• Subjects: Arthrobacter globiformis; Dehydrogenase activity; Ecotoxicology; ISO 18187; Life Sciences; Soils; Toxicology; Wastes; Arthrobacter globiformis; Soils; Wastes; Dehydrogenase activity; ISO 18187; ARTHROBACTER GLOBIFORMIS; WASTES; SOILS; DEHYDROGENASE ACTIVITY
• ISSN: 0304-3894; 1873-3336
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2018.03.022

[Display omitted] •A. globiformis DHA is a sensitive endpoint for assessing the quality of solid samples.•A. globiformis solid contact assay proved to be reproducible and repeatable.•The assay is reliable for routine use towards soil and waste quality evaluation. The contact assay measuring the inhibition of Arthrobacter globiformis dehydrogenase activity as an endpoint to evaluate the toxicity of solid samples was tested in an international ring-test to validate its performance for ISO standardization (ISO/CD 18187). This work reports the results of the ring-test involving 9 laboratories from six countries. At least 8 valid data sets were obtained for each sample and more than three quarters of the participants attained the validity criteria defined in the standard. The coefficient of variation within (CVr) and between (CVR) laboratories was generally on average <15% and <30% for negative and positive controls, respectively. Regarding solid samples, the laboratories provided a similar ranking of the samples based on their toxicity, despite some variation in the LOEC values. The logarithmic within-lab standard deviation <0.50 for soils and <0.25 for wastes evidenced a good repeatability. The between-lab variability assessed by a CVR <30%, minimum-maximum factor <4 and a reproducibility standard deviation (SDR) <0.13 for a great part of the solid samples, confirmed the test reproducibility. Overall, this assay proved to be robust, sensitive and feasible for routine use towards the quality assessment of soils and wastes.