Suitability of Standardized Acute Toxicity Tests for Marine Sediment Assessment: Pharmaceutical Contamination

Pharmaceutical products are found in low concentrations constantly released into the environment, which contribute to their persistence. In this study, a battery of recognized short-term bioassays was applied to evaluate the risk assessment of sediment samples spiked with pharmaceutical products: carbamazepine, ibuprofen, fluoxetine, 17 alpha-ethynylestradiol, propranolol, and caffeine, including the environmental concentrations. Two phases of the sediments (elutriate and whole sediment) were evaluated through the determination of seven endpoints: bioluminescence inhibition of the bacteria Vibrio fischeri, mortality rate of the amphipods Ampelisca brevicornis, spermiotoxicity and embryotoxicity of the sea urchins Paracentrotus lividus, and microalgae growth rate of Isochrysis galbana and Tetraselmis chuii. Lethal and sublethal responses were analysed after short-term exposure. Results refuted the fact that Microtox (R) procedures (SPT and Basic phase) and microalgae and amphipods bioassays tested in this study for the quality assessment of pharmaceutical-spiked sediments were sufficient for the protection of the aquatic environment. Between the bioassays used in the present study, sea urchin tests were the most sensitive endpoints, which embryotoxicity showed more sensitive to evaluate the contamination by pharmaceutical products than the spermiotoxicity bioassay. Sea urchin bioassays are recommendable for the quality assessment of sediment contaminated by pharmaceutical products.