THE USE OF TOXICITY TESTING IN EFFLUENT REGULATION AND CONTROL: A NEW DIMENSION TO ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF WATER QUALITY IN SOUTH AFRICA

Summary

Efficient management tools are continually required to cope with increasing demands placed on the quality and quantity of aquatic resources. Recent developments in environmental monitoring indicate the importance of incorporating biological indicators in assessment programmes. Aquatic toxicology has consequently become an important monitoring and regulatory science. Applications of aquatic toxicity testing include: deriving water quality criteria; toxicological evaluations of whole effluents and receiving waters; and the estimation of ecological risk. Toxicity testing can potentially play a significant role in improving water quality in years to come, especially through its application in effluent regulation. Currently however, few environmental laboratories in South Africa have the required expertise and facilities to carry out a representative range of toxicity tests. Training and funding are required to build the capacity for the necessary developmental research, before toxicity testing can routinely be implemented.

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