Continuous real-time monitoring of water toxicity

ended

Urban centres, industries and agriculture produce large volumes of wastewater; in addition, the current population growth, accelerated urbanization and economic development are increasing the quantity and pollution of wastewater globally. Being a by-product of human activities, wastewater contains chemical, biological and physical pollutants, so it must be treated to remove all contaminants before it is released in the environment. Releasing untreated or inadequately treated wastewater is dangerous and has harmful effects on human health, the environment, and economic activities. Water quality after wastewater purification varies over time, even and especially during one single day, but managers do not have the necessary tools to monitor these variations. Currently available methods based on bioassays or physical and chemical parameters require sampling, conservation and transport, and are based on spot-sampling (1-2 times/year). These methods are not able to provide information on temporal variability and have low efficiency, durability, and specificity; they are also slow in providing results (at least 72 hours) and can’t allow real time monitoring. To overcome these limitations, ViewPoint has developed ToxMate: a tool for the automated real-time, on-site and on-line monitoring of wastewater toxicity. It is based on the simultaneous analysis of the locomotor behaviour of 3 different species of aquatic invertebrates and it uses infrared light and powerful and precise cameras to record continuously the activity of the animals. The system is composed of 3 panels, each containing 16 animals, so 48 animals can be analysed at the same time and for up to 30 days. ToxMate is fast: it can provide a result on water toxicity in just one hour, so it allows public authorities and water managers to measure the variation in wastewater and identify abnormal episodes, thus allowing quick interventions to optimize water purification and control treatment plants more efficiently.