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Effects of Wastewater from Oil Exploration on Soil Mesofauna

Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology volume 95, pages 777–783 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Wastewater from oil exploration may contain substances that can alter the diversity of soil organisms. This study evaluated whether produced water treated by filtration or reverse osmosis and glutaraldehyde from reverse osmosis treatments negatively affected the mesofauna in an irrigated area. In the field, irrigation with produced water treated by reverse osmosis and filtration influenced Hymenoptera and Cosmochthonius sp., while Entomobryomorpha springtails were affected only by the reverse osmosis water. In the ecotoxicological tests, reproduction in the springtail Folsomia candida was inhibited by the reverse osmosis treatment, while reproduction in the earthworm Enchytraeus crypticus was affected by both water treatments. Although glutaraldehyde did not affect the survival of F. candida, the reproduction was inhibited (EC50 = 44.4 mg/L). No adverse effect of glutaraldehyde was observed on reproduction or survival of E. crypticus. These results indicate that produced water, when used in irrigated agriculture, may affect soil functional mesofauna.

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Acknowledgments

This study is part of a project on the reuse of produced water for irrigation. The authors thank Petrobras for financial support, Capes for a doctoral student scholarship, and Embrapa Agrobiology and Embrapa Tropical Agroindustry for logistics and laboratory facilities.

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Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Recursos Naturais, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, CE, 60455-760, Brazil

    Raimundo N. C. Ferreira

  2. Centro Nacional de Pesquisa de Agroindústria Tropical, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária – EMBRAPA, Fortaleza, CE, 600511-110, Brazil

    Olmar B. Weber & Antonio L. M. Mesquita

  3. Centro Nacional de Pesquisa de Agrobiologia, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária – EMBRAPA, Seropédica, RJ, 23891-000, Brazil

    Maria E. F. Correia & Rafael N. Scoriza

  4. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação em Agropecuária, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica, RJ, 23851-970, Brazil

    Eloísa S. Benazzi-Ikeda

Authors
  1. Raimundo N. C. Ferreira
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  2. Olmar B. Weber
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  3. Maria E. F. Correia
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  4. Eloísa S. Benazzi-Ikeda
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  5. Rafael N. Scoriza
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  6. Antonio L. M. Mesquita
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Raimundo N. C. Ferreira.

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Ferreira, R.N.C., Weber, O.B., Correia, M.E.F. et al. Effects of Wastewater from Oil Exploration on Soil Mesofauna. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 95, 777–783 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-015-1671-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-015-1671-9

Keywords

  • Water reuse
  • Soil fauna
  • Toxicology
  • Glutaraldehyde