Abstract
Abstract
Eisenia fetida was tested to assess terrestrial ecotoxicity in microcosms contaminated by copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene (TCB) separately and in combinations. Toxicity endpoints were the median lethal concentration (LC50) and acid phosphatase (ACP), adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase), and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities. Single toxicity tests revealed that the toxicity order was 1,2,4-TCB>Cu>Pb for E. fetida with LC50 as the toxicity criterion. A binary combination of Cu (25 or 200 mg/kg) and TCB (25 or 200 mg/kg) caused increased ACP and ATPase activities but decreased GST activities in all treatments. A combination of Pb (50 or 400 mg/kg) and TCB (50 or 400 mg/kg) caused increased (days 2 and 14) and decreased (day 7) ACP activities, initially increased (day 2) and then decreased (days 7 and 14) ATPase activities, and decreased GST activities in all treatments. In general, antagonistic and/or synergistic responses reflected bioaccumulation patterns in some binary combinations, but patterns in mixtures were not always consistent with toxicity data. This work presented in the article is original and novel and the results of this work can be regarded as sensitive parameters for monitoring the contamination in soils.
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