Separation and quantification of organic micropollutants (PAH, PCB) in sediments. Toxicity of extracts towards vibrio fisheri

Abstract

Vibrio fisheri test has been used to evaluate the toxicity of contaminated sediment of the Venice lagoon. The following classes of organic microcontaminants were considered in this study: aliphatic hydrocarbons (AHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and chlorinated pesticides. Contaminants were extracted from samples with n‐hexane/dichloromethane in a sonication bath. Extracts were then purified and fractionated with column chromatography. A solvent exchange into ethanol was made before testing, to reduce toxicity. Preliminary tests were performed to set up the procedure to apply Vibrio fisheri to organic extracts. The application of the test with organic extracts was made at different steps of clean‐up and fractionation into classes of compounds. The purpose of the study was to set up a procedure to comparatively assess sediment contamination with chemical analyses and toxicity bioassays.