Assessment of toxicity and genotoxicity of hydrophobic organic compounds in wastewater

This review highlights and discusses current state of the art and limitatio ns in evaluation and assessment of potential (geno)toxic impact of particle -bound hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) in wastewaters on receiving eco systems. Despite extensive work on whole effluent toxicity testing and conc omitant development of protocols for identifying chemical toxicants, little has been done to develop procedures and protocols to identify (geno)toxici ty of the particle phase from industrial or municipal wastewaters. Some stu dies, however, have shown that particulate matter is of considerable import ance in the delivery of genotoxins to receiving waters. Further, it has bee n suggested that such particle-bound HOCs deposited in receiving waters oft en result in long-term environmental impact. As a consequence, particle-bou nd HOCs (geno)toxins should be recognized as an important potential hazard. The sparsity of work leads to suggestion of further research to improve un derstanding of the contribution of these particle-bound pollutants from liq uid wastes and their specific role in aquatic ecosystems. (C) 1999 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.