Assessment of the ecotoxic potential of soil contaminants by using a soil-algae test.

To assess the ecotoxic potential of soil contaminants, a test with the soil alga Chlorococcum infusionum has been developed, enabling investigations of soil pollutions with soluble and fairly soluble chemicals. Three soil types artificially contaminated with Sb compounds and five soils from a historical mining area, which were highly polluted with Sb, As, Hg, and Cu, were used as test soils. For antimony, EC50 values from 125 mg/kg up to > 1000 mg/kg, depending on soil type, were determined. Two of five soils from the mining area caused toxic effects. Additionally, aqueous extracts of all soils were exposed in established tests (daphnid, alga, bacterium). In contrast with the soil-algae test, no toxic effects were found. Aquatic tests with SbO/K tartrate were performed to point out the toxicity of antimony. The following EC50 values in milligrams of Sb per liter were determined: Scenedesmus subspicatus, 59 mg/liter; Chlorococcum infusionum, 43 mg/liter; Daphnia magna, 8 mg/liter; and Vibrio fisheri, 7 mg/liter.