() Assessment of the toxicity of complex mixtures of agrochemicals by combining passive samplers and bioindicator tests.
Alvarez, D1, Johnson, B1, Huckins, J1, Smith, S2, Capel, P3, 1 USGS - CERC, Columbia, MO, USA2 USGS, Reston, VA, USA3 USGS, Minneapolis, MN, USA
ABSTRACT- The intensive nature of modern animal husbandry practices, limited or no-till crop production, and increasing urbanization of vast portions of the Nation, contribute to the pollution of a wide variety of aquatic systems. These practices result in complex mixtures of chemicals who's toxicological significance are largely unknown. Methods are needed to provide time weighted average (TWA) assessments of the toxicity of these emerging contaminants. The polar organic chemical integrative sampler (POCIS) provides an approach to integratively sampling a wide array of bioavailable waterborne polar organic contaminants. Laboratory experiments were conducted combining the sampling power of the POCIS with bioindicator tests such as Microtox. Test chemicals selected for these trials included organophosphate insecticides, acetanilides, and triazine herbicides. Field deployments were made in three distinct agricultural regions during periods of probable agrochemical application. Results from the chemical analysis and toxicity assessments from these laboratory trials and field deployments will be presented.
Key words: passive sampling, pocis, agrochemicals, bioindicator tests