Toxicity testing of ground water, surface water and waste water in the island of Cyprus
- Environmental Protection Agency, San Francisco, CA (United States)
- Agricultural Research Inst., Nicosia (Cyprus)
- Department of the Environment, Lefkosa (Cyprus)
- Near East Univ., Lefkosa (Cyprus)
The island of Cyprus is an exporter of agricultural products to the European Community (EC). Public health and environmental toxicity testing programs on the island, especially in the Greek-dominated south, are based on EC models. Following EC guidelines, an environmental toxicology laboratory is being established at the State Laboratory in Nicosia. It will test water for toxicity using the acute Daphnia magna survival test, the chronic 4-day algal growth test (Selenastrum capricomutum), Microtox and Mutatox. During a 6-month survey of water and wastewater using the acute Ceriodaphnia dubia test and the algal growth test, the question of the relevance of environmental toxicity testing in an ecosystem devoid of natural year round freshwater sources, excepting ground water, was examined. Municipal wells, potable and agricultural water reservoirs, municipal and industrial effluent were tested. Preliminary studies showed some municipal well water to be toxic to freshwater species, probably due to high salt content. Water from a newly developed reservoir was toxic, probably due to its location at the base of eroding hills recently mined for copper. Effluent from a paper factory was toxic, but the reservoir into which it flows was not, nor was the sulfide-rich water toxic to untreated seeds. For the water-deficient ecosystem of Cyprus, the environmental testing program must be different from those developed for the European continent. The choice of appropriate test species, the need to focus on water quality for public health and agricultural use, and the possible benefits of nutrient-enriched waste water flowing into sterile ocean water, must all be considered.
- OSTI ID:
- 218460
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9511137-; ISBN 1-880611-03-1; TRN: IM9619%%181
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 2. Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) world conference, Vancouver (Canada), 5-9 Nov 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of Second SETAC world congress (16. annual meeting): Abstract book. Global environmental protection: Science, politics, and common sense; PB: 378 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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