Use of a Nematode, Caenorhabditis Elegans, for Biomonitoring Heavy Metals in Pulp and Paper Effluents and Sludge, 1994 Environmental Conference Proceedings

Teri A. Ard, Ronald J. Dinus, Steven G. Donkin, David B. Dusenbery

Current methods used by the pulp and paper industry for determining toxicity of effluents have been found to be expensive, time-consuming, and of uncertain reliability. A nematode, Caenorhabditis Elegans, has been investigated as a test organism to evaluate pulp and paper sludges and effluents. In this research, heavy metals (Al, As, Cd, Cr, Ni, Zn, Cu, and Pb) in both an aquatic and a solid medium were used to evaluate the utility and applicability of this test method to the needs of the pulp and paper industry. Experimental results indicate good precision and reproducibility within laboratories, although inter-laboratory reproducibility was less successful. The use of C. Elegans, for toxicity testing has the potential to yield more highly reproducible results at less expense than those obtained with other test organisms such as Ceriodaphnia or fathead minnow.

The ability to use C. Elegans to evaluate sludge toxicity is an added benefit. The sludge sample tested was not, itself, toxic to the nematodes. When the sludge was spiked with a heavy metal solution, the toxic effect on the nematodes was less then that seen in metal-spiked soils, indicating a large capacity on the part of sludge for binding metals and decreasing their bioavailability.