International Journal of Ecotoxicology and Ecobiology

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Acute Toxicity of Bismuth to the Earthworm Eisenia andrei

Received: 30 May 2017    Accepted: 03 July 2017    Published: 09 August 2017
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Abstract

Bismuth (Bi) is increasingly used in several industrial applications including the production of alloys, drugs, cosmetics and munitions formulations. However, little information is available on the environmental fate and ecotoxicological effects of Bi. The present study describes 14 days acute toxicity of Bi, added as Bi citrate to a natural sandy soil, to the adult earthworm Eisenia andrei. Total measured Bi concentrations were 298.0, 399.5, 431.0, and 469.5 mg Bi/kg dry soil. Data indicates that Bi was toxic to Eisenia andrei, as determined by LC50 and LOEC, i.e., 416.0 and 399.5 mg Bi/kg dry soil, respectively. At 14 days in the presence of Eisenia andrei the bioaccessible fraction of Bi in soil, as determined in KNO3 aqueous soil extracts, increased by a factor ranging from 1.6 to 30.0 compared to those measured at the beginning of experiment. Moreover, this study shows that an increase in pH caused by the presence of earthworm in soil was accompanied by increase in Bi bioaccessibility and consequently toxicity. For example, when Bi bioaccessibility increased from 0.262 to 7.516 mg Bi/kg dry soil, the mortality rate increased from 0 to 79%. Assuming that there were at least two routes by which Eisania andrei enhanced Bi bioaccessibility; one route was guided by the mobility, the biochemical (mucus) and the biological (bacteria) interactions of Eisenia andrei with soil constituents, and the other route was marked by the death of earthworms and the release of the accumulated Bi from the carcass.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijee.20170203.15
Published in International Journal of Ecotoxicology and Ecobiology (Volume 2, Issue 3, September 2017)
Page(s) 125-133
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Bismuth, Bioaccessibility, Soil, Acute Toxicity, Eisenia andrei

References
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Author Information
  • INRS-Institut Armand Frappier, Laval, Canada; National Research Council of Canada, Montreal, Canada

  • Department of Civil, Geological and Mining Engineering, Polytechnic Montreal, Montreal, Canada

  • INRS-Institut Armand Frappier, Laval, Canada

  • National Research Council of Canada, Montreal, Canada; AGAT Laboratories, Montreal, Canada

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  • APA Style

    Zohra Omouri, Jalal Hawari, Michel Fournier, Pierre Yves Robidoux. (2017). Acute Toxicity of Bismuth to the Earthworm Eisenia andrei. International Journal of Ecotoxicology and Ecobiology, 2(3), 125-133. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijee.20170203.15

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    ACS Style

    Zohra Omouri; Jalal Hawari; Michel Fournier; Pierre Yves Robidoux. Acute Toxicity of Bismuth to the Earthworm Eisenia andrei. Int. J. Ecotoxicol. Ecobiol. 2017, 2(3), 125-133. doi: 10.11648/j.ijee.20170203.15

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    AMA Style

    Zohra Omouri, Jalal Hawari, Michel Fournier, Pierre Yves Robidoux. Acute Toxicity of Bismuth to the Earthworm Eisenia andrei. Int J Ecotoxicol Ecobiol. 2017;2(3):125-133. doi: 10.11648/j.ijee.20170203.15

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijee.20170203.15,
      author = {Zohra Omouri and Jalal Hawari and Michel Fournier and Pierre Yves Robidoux},
      title = {Acute Toxicity of Bismuth to the Earthworm Eisenia andrei},
      journal = {International Journal of Ecotoxicology and Ecobiology},
      volume = {2},
      number = {3},
      pages = {125-133},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijee.20170203.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijee.20170203.15},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijee.20170203.15},
      abstract = {Bismuth (Bi) is increasingly used in several industrial applications including the production of alloys, drugs, cosmetics and munitions formulations. However, little information is available on the environmental fate and ecotoxicological effects of Bi. The present study describes 14 days acute toxicity of Bi, added as Bi citrate to a natural sandy soil, to the adult earthworm Eisenia andrei. Total measured Bi concentrations were 298.0, 399.5, 431.0, and 469.5 mg Bi/kg dry soil. Data indicates that Bi was toxic to Eisenia andrei, as determined by LC50 and LOEC, i.e., 416.0 and 399.5 mg Bi/kg dry soil, respectively. At 14 days in the presence of Eisenia andrei the bioaccessible fraction of Bi in soil, as determined in KNO3 aqueous soil extracts, increased by a factor ranging from 1.6 to 30.0 compared to those measured at the beginning of experiment. Moreover, this study shows that an increase in pH caused by the presence of earthworm in soil was accompanied by increase in Bi bioaccessibility and consequently toxicity. For example, when Bi bioaccessibility increased from 0.262 to 7.516 mg Bi/kg dry soil, the mortality rate increased from 0 to 79%. Assuming that there were at least two routes by which Eisania andrei enhanced Bi bioaccessibility; one route was guided by the mobility, the biochemical (mucus) and the biological (bacteria) interactions of Eisenia andrei with soil constituents, and the other route was marked by the death of earthworms and the release of the accumulated Bi from the carcass.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Acute Toxicity of Bismuth to the Earthworm Eisenia andrei
    AU  - Zohra Omouri
    AU  - Jalal Hawari
    AU  - Michel Fournier
    AU  - Pierre Yves Robidoux
    Y1  - 2017/08/09
    PY  - 2017
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijee.20170203.15
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijee.20170203.15
    T2  - International Journal of Ecotoxicology and Ecobiology
    JF  - International Journal of Ecotoxicology and Ecobiology
    JO  - International Journal of Ecotoxicology and Ecobiology
    SP  - 125
    EP  - 133
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-1735
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijee.20170203.15
    AB  - Bismuth (Bi) is increasingly used in several industrial applications including the production of alloys, drugs, cosmetics and munitions formulations. However, little information is available on the environmental fate and ecotoxicological effects of Bi. The present study describes 14 days acute toxicity of Bi, added as Bi citrate to a natural sandy soil, to the adult earthworm Eisenia andrei. Total measured Bi concentrations were 298.0, 399.5, 431.0, and 469.5 mg Bi/kg dry soil. Data indicates that Bi was toxic to Eisenia andrei, as determined by LC50 and LOEC, i.e., 416.0 and 399.5 mg Bi/kg dry soil, respectively. At 14 days in the presence of Eisenia andrei the bioaccessible fraction of Bi in soil, as determined in KNO3 aqueous soil extracts, increased by a factor ranging from 1.6 to 30.0 compared to those measured at the beginning of experiment. Moreover, this study shows that an increase in pH caused by the presence of earthworm in soil was accompanied by increase in Bi bioaccessibility and consequently toxicity. For example, when Bi bioaccessibility increased from 0.262 to 7.516 mg Bi/kg dry soil, the mortality rate increased from 0 to 79%. Assuming that there were at least two routes by which Eisania andrei enhanced Bi bioaccessibility; one route was guided by the mobility, the biochemical (mucus) and the biological (bacteria) interactions of Eisenia andrei with soil constituents, and the other route was marked by the death of earthworms and the release of the accumulated Bi from the carcass.
    VL  - 2
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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