Toxicity Assessment and Identification for Protection of Natural Waters

Conventional pollution prevention strategies for the protection of natural waters usually entail a comparison of analytical results with water quality guidelines. This comparison is often compromised by the inability to identify fully the toxicants in the environment and the need to reference current toxicological databases containing large data gaps. In light of these shortcomings, we describe examples of an alternative approach based on toxicity testing coupled with chemical manipulation and directed chemical analysis. Advantages of this toxicological approach over traditional methods are illustrated for natural water surveys conducted in North America and Mexico. It is demonstrated that toxicity identification evaluation is well suited to the development of water quality criteria for the protection of aquatic ecosystems.