ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Toxicity Evaluation of Antibiotics in Piggery
Wastewater by Luminescent Bacteria
Jianping Sun1, Wenhong Li2, Ping Zheng2, Jun Zhu3
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1College of Biology and Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou 310015, China
2Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Environment and Resource Science,
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310029, China
3Southern Research and Outreach Center, University of Minnesota, 35838 120th Street, Waseca, MN 56093, USA
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2012;21(3):741-747
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ABSTRACT
Antibiotics, as special pollutants in piggery wastewater, have negative effects on wastewater treatment
processes. However, it is difficult to obtain a clear understanding of the toxic potency of antibiotics using the
common inhibitory experiments of wastewater because of their low concentrations. Therefore, this study for
the first time reports research on examining the toxic strength of piggery wastewater containing antibiotics by
acute toxicity experiments using luminescent bacteria. Also reported herein for the first time were the mixed
toxic effects of different antibiotics on luminescent bacteria using orthogonal experimental designs. Results
showed that piggery wastewater had high ecotoxicity equal to 24.6 mg·L-1 HgCl2, and the toxicity units (TU)
of chlortetracycline, amoxicillin, florfenicol, and sulfamethazine (SM2) were 85.5, 64.72, 1.27, and 1.20,
respectively, which fell under high or significant ecotoxicity according to the Toxicity Classification System
(TCS). The IC10 values indicated that the antibiotics could impose single or mixed toxic effects on luminescent
bacteria even in trace concentrations. Among these antibiotics, chlortetracycline was the most significant
one needing more attention in the treatment of wastewater-containing antibiotics.