Toxicity Evaluation of Organochloride Pesticide, Endosulfan and its Metabolites Using Microalgae

A growth inhibition assay using Chlorella sp. AG 10002 based on the OECD 201 standard test procedure was applied to the toxicity testing of endosulfan and its reported metabolites. Comparison of dry cell weight, optical density (OD) at 680 nm, and chlorophyll a concentration indicated that optical density at 680 nm of culture broth is convenient, rapid, and accurate method for cell growth. In this microalgae system, the values of endosulfan, endosulfan sulfate, endosulfan lactone, and endosulfan ether were determined as 9.45, 18.8, 18.2 and 37.5 mg/L, respectively. In a while, endosulfan diol did not show a significant toxicity up to 50 mg/L. Since endosulfan is liable at acidic or alkaline conditions, treatment of endosulfan in pH 3, 4, and 11 for 3 days resulted in reduced toxicity, as expected. These results suggested that the microalgae system is useful to evaluate various toxic chemicals and provide a new notion for bioremediation of endosulfan in aqueous systems.