Biological interactions of selenocyanate: bioprocessing, detection and toxicity.

The selenocyanate anion, SeCN−, has been reported in wastewater from refineries whose petroleum comes from Se‐rich marine shales. A metalloid‐resistant bacterium was exposed to aqueous solutions of SeCN− to examine the relative toxicity of SeCN−, and the results were compared with the toxicity of selenate and selenite and another G16 metalloid oxyanion, tellurite. We also determined the volatile organo‐selenium species produced by bacterial cultures amended with selenocyanate anion, and we investigated a solid phase preconcentration technique for collecting SeCN− from aqueous samples with different ionic strengths and subsequent detection using capillary electrophoresis. The relative toxicity of SeCN− is comparable to that of selenate and selenite using the metalloid‐resistant bacterium LHVE as the test organism. Tellurite was more toxic at all concentrations examined than all three selenium‐containing anions, SeO4 2−, SeO3 2−, SeCN−. Live cultures of LHVE amended with 1 mM NaSeCN produced volatile organo...