The purpose of this study was to establish the dynamics and kinetics of the aromatic hydrocarbons breakdown in aqueous environment. The investigated compounds were: benzene, toluene, m-xylene, p-xylene and styrene. These substances even in low concentrations threaten surface waters taken for municipal purposes because of their toxicity and also mutagenic and tumorigenic properties. The study wa...

In this study, some biochemical features and the extent of inhibition induced by the organophosphorous pesticide azinphos-methyl on the cholinesterase (ChE) activity present in whole soft tissue of two freshwater invertebrate species, the gastropod Biomphalaria glabrata and the oligochaete Lumbriculus variegatus were investigated. Both invertebrate organisms presented marked differences in ChE ...

This review collects information on sources of aquatic toxicity data and computational tools for estimation of chemical toxicity aquatic to aquatic organisms, such as expert systems and quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) models. The review also captures current thinking of what constitutes an integrated testing strategy (ITS) for this endpoint. The emphasis of the review is on ...

Species-sensitivity distribution methods assemble single-species toxicity data to predict hazardous concentrations (HCps) affecting a certain percentage (p) of species in a community. The fit of the lognormal model and required number of individual species values were evaluated with 30 published data sets. The increasingly common assumption that a lognormal model best fits these data was not su...

The use of the insecticide fipronil has dramatically increased in recent years, yet few studies have been performed compared to other popular pesticides. Although fipronil binds readily to organic carbon in soil, past studies have focused on fipronil toxicity in water but not the effects of fipronil toxicity in sediment. This study addresses the need for a broader range in fipronil toxicity res...

On a global scale, pathogenic contamination of drinking water poses the most significant health risk to humans, and there have been countless numbers of disease outbreaks and poisonings throughout history resulting from exposure to untreated or poorly treated drinking water. However, significant risks to human health may also result from exposure to nonpathogenic, toxic contaminants that are of...