Biomonitors:
We have been able to locate three companies that sell
automated continuous or near-continuous biomonitoring systems to detect toxic
substances in water. There are probably
more. None have been tested by the
USGS, but all are in use in early-warning monitoring installations. Here is the information we have been able to
gather:
1. Fish
ventilatory biomonitor: “Biosensor”, by
Biological Monitoring, Inc.
1800 Kraft Drive, Suite 101
Blacksburg,
Virginia 24060
David Gruber
540-953-2821
bmi@biomon.com
Dr. Gruber builds these systems a few at a time. He has a couple ready to go, and could build
more in a month or so. The cost for one
is about $70,000, but the price could go down for multiple orders. Fish swim in flow-through cells, and
non-contact sensors monitor heart rate, gill opening rate, cough rate, and
swimming motion. Glenn Patterson saw a
similar system in operation at Aberdeen Proving Ground to monitor effluent from
a ground-water remediation project, and it seemed to be working well. It was installed in a laboratory, but could
be installed in a gage-house type environment
2. Daphnia motion
biomonitor: “Daphnia Software”, by
LemnaTec GmbH
Schumanstrasse
18
52146 Wurselen
Germany
Dirk
Vandenhirtz
49 (0) 2405/41
26-11
www.lemnatec.de
This is apparently a near-continuous system based on
automated processing of discrete samples.
It appears that daphnia in microtiter dishes are exposed to aliquots of
the test water for 30-120 minutes, and are repeatedly scanned automatically to
detect changes in motion. We don’t know
the price yet, but heard one toxicologist say “it’s expensive.”
3. Bacterial
metabolism sensor: “Amtox”, by
Pollution
& Process Monitoring Ltd
Bourne
Enterprise Centre - Borough Green, Sevenoaks - Kent.
TN15
8DG - England
Tel: + 44 (0) 1732 882 044 - Fax: + 44
(0) 1732 780 190
U.S. Representative: Rob Whiteman, Ph.D.
GRWman@aol.com
Tel: 770-945-1113
Fax: 678-546-4837
Cell: 404-392-7731
www.utilitiesuk.net/ppm/4.htm
This system was originally developed to detect toxic
substances in the wastewater stream that would knock out nitrifying bacteria in
wastewater treatment plants. It’s based
on an immobilized culture of nitrifying bacteria, and detects their response to
substances in the water, in a flow-through system. It has been adapted for use as one component of an early-warning
monitoring system for source water on the Trent River downstream of Birmingham,
England (a site visited by Jake Peters (nepeters), USGS). The other four users mentioned on the web
site are wastewater-related. Here’s
what the U.S. representative sent to us.
We’re not so sure about his claim that the companion TOC monitor can
detect pathogens.
(From Rob Whiteman):
I have received
your e-mail to PPM regarding the Amtox for on-line monitoring of drinking-water
intake.
1) Suitability: Extremely good for low level acute or chronic toxicity not detected by hetrotrophic bacteria and simulates much better river fauna.
2) Costs vary
dependent on site specific requirements for enclosures and remote data
monitoring communications. Base cost of
on-line instrument $60,000 including filtration device.
3) Availability:
Built to order with 6 weeks delivery upon receipt of PO.
4) Organisms used
in the system: Nitrifiers. These are
immobilized to prevent wash-out from the continuous flow thru reactor.
5) Toxins
detected: Any biologically toxic organic substance and inorganic substance
including metals (Cu, Al....).
6) For Hazard &
Biohazard detection: Amtox should be coupled with the PPM TOC monitor for
detection of unwarranted biological agents such as viruses, water-borne
pathogens including microbes such as Anthrax.
Organic matter can be detected down in the ppb range.
Regards,
Rob Whiteman
In
addition to the automated, continuous or near-continuous systems mentioned
above, there are several biomonitors designed for manual testing of samples for
toxic effects on a sentinel species, either streamside or in the
laboratory. The most familiar example
is:
Microbial metabolism sensor:
“Microtox” by
Azur Environmental
2232 Rutherford Rd
Carlsbad, California 92008-8883
Tel: 760-438
8282
Fax: 760-438
2980
This
system uses a luminescent bacterium, Vibrio fischeri NRRL B-11177, to
test for toxic substances. The test
device measures the light output of a culture vial. The traditional Microtox setup is intended for the lab, but they
now offer a portable field unit, called Deltatox, for manual use on discrete
samples in the field. The Solo
pre-packaged vials provide a convenient testing approach, but it still relies
on manual operation.