Use of Toxicity Tests in Regulating the Quality of Industrial Wastes in Canada

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Abstract
Federal controls on industrial liquid effluents in Canada are developed through consultative government-industry task forces. These controls are technology based (the best practicable technology) and include chemical parameters and a toxicity (acute lethality) limit. The toxicity test provides a means of integrating the combined effects of a multitude of chemical constituents, a practical, yet indicated alternative to comprehensive (exhaustive) chemical analyses on the increasingly complex effluents. A simple 96-h mortality bioassay using rainbow trout is presented that is typical of those appearing in Canadian regulations. This, in combination with analysis of a few selected chemical parameters, offers an efficient and effective means of regulating effluent quality at the source. There is a need for standardized sublethal, rapid-response tests to facilitate greater efficiencies in both routine monitoring and wastewater characterization.

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