废水处理厂(WWTP)是地表水微污染物的主要来源。目前,他们的化学或生物监测是通过使用抓取或复合样品来实现的,仅提供当前废水成分的快照。特别是在有工业投入的污水处理厂,废水成分可以是高度可变的,连续评估将是有利的,但是非常劳动力和成本密集。一个有前途的概念是自动实时生物预警系统(BEWS),其中活的生物体不断暴露在水中,如果生物体的反应超过急性毒性的有害阈值,则会触发警报。目前,BEWS用于饮用水和地表水,但很少用于监测废水。这项研究表明,使用藻类(藻类毒性计中的小球藻,bbeMoldaenke),水蚤(DaphToxII中的大型水蚤,bbeMoldaenke)和gammarids(Sensaguard的Gammaruspulex,REMONDISAqua)可以适用于废水监测。对于连续低维护操作,可反洗的膜过滤系统对于处理过的废水的充分准备是必不可少的。与地表水相比,生物对经处理和过滤的废水的反应仅有微小的偏差。在用两种浓度的模型化合物敌草隆加标处理过的废水后,甲基毒死蜱,和舍曲林,不同BEWS中的生物体显示出明显的反应,这取决于各自的化合物,浓度和行动方式。检测到敌草隆暴露对藻类光合活性的直接影响,并观察到接触甲基毒死蜱或舍曲林后水蚤和gammarids的强烈行为变化,触发了自动报警。不同类型的数据分析被用来从特定的行为特征中提取更多的信息,而不是仅由供应商提供的算法。为了调查,行为运动变化是否可以与影响其他端点相关联,评估了对G.pulex摄食活性的影响,结果表明暴露之间存在显着差异。总的来说,这些发现提供了重要的基础,表明BEWS有可能充当废水部门污染事件的警报系统。
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are a major source of micropollutants to surface waters. Currently, their chemical or biological monitoring is realized by using grab or composite samples, which provides only snapshots of the current wastewater composition. Especially in WWTPs with industrial input, the wastewater composition can be highly variable and a continuous assessment would be advantageous, but very labor and cost intensive. A promising concept are automated real-time biological early warning systems (BEWS), where living organisms are constantly exposed to the water and an alarm is triggered if the organism\'s responses exceed a harmful threshold of acute toxicity. Currently, BEWS are established for drinking water and surface water but are seldom applied to monitor wastewater. This study demonstrates that a battery of BEWS using algae (Chlorella vulgaris in the Algae Toximeter, bbe Moldaenke), water flea (Daphnia magna in the DaphTox II, bbe Moldaenke) and gammarids (Gammarus pulex in the Sensaguard, REMONDIS Aqua) can be adapted for wastewater surveillance. For continuous low-maintenance operation, a back-washable membrane filtration system is indispensable for adequate preparation of treated wastewater. Only minor deviations in the reaction of the organisms towards treated and filtered wastewater compared to surface waters were detected. After spiking treated wastewater with two concentrations of the model compounds diuron, chlorpyrifos methyl, and sertraline, the organisms in the different BEWS showed clear responses depending on the respective compound, concentration and mode of action. Immediate effects on photosynthetic activity of algae were detected for diuron exposure, and strong behavioral changes in water flea and gammarids after exposure to chlorpyrifos methyl or sertraline were observed, which triggered automated alarms. Different types of data analysis were applied to extract more information out of the specific behavioral traits, than only provided by the vendors algorithms. To investigate, whether behavioral movement changes can be linked to impact other endpoints, the effects on feeding activity of G. pulex were evaluated and results indicated significant differences between the exposures. Overall, these findings provide an important basis indicating that BEWS have the potential to act as alarm systems for pollution events in the wastewater sector.