Research Product

A chemical fractionation scheme using ion-exchange resins for separation of organic and inorganic constituents of complex industrial wastes has been developed for use with bioassays in order to identify the toxic components of such wastes. Grass shrimp (Palaemonetes pugio) and sheepshead minnows (Cyprinodon variegatus) were not as good indicators of possible effects of complex wastes on estuarine organisms as the diatom, Skeletonema costatum in bioassays performed at our laboratory. The diatom was affected by wastes in either of the following three ways: stimulation, inhibition, or simulation at low concentrations but inhibition at higher concentrations. Toxicity to algae correlated with toxicity to the mysid, Mysidopsis bahia. Chemical fractionation with appropriate biological testing provides a means of estimating a more complete potential effect of an effluent on receiving waters. Effects of growth stimulators, for example, can be masked by toxicants in whole waste. We conclude that chemical fractionation is required for comprehensive analysis of possible effects of complex industrial wastes on estuarine organisms, and that fractionation should be coupled to bioassays that use at least an alga and a crustacean as test organisms.