Abstract
Alum sludges from ten water treatment plants throughout North America were subjected to a battery of toxicity tests which included the S. capricornutum growth test, the fathead minnow survival and growth test, a protozoan mortality test, and the Microtox® test. S. capricornutum was more sensitive than any other test species to sludge extracts. Algal growth inhibition was observed in extracts obtained at pH 5 but generally not in circumneutral solutions. Alum sludge extracts prepared with natural receiving waters were toxic to S. capricornutum at all extract pH levels tested if receiving water hardness was less than 35 mg CaCO3/L. These results indicate that water-soluble constituents from alum sludges discharged into receiving waters may affect algal growth.
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George, D.B., Berk, S.G., Adams, V.D. et al. Toxicity of alum sludge extracts to a freshwater alga, protozoan, fish, and marine bacterium. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 29, 149–158 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00212964
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00212964