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Urease inhibition: a tool for toxicity identification in sediment elutriates
1Department of Chemical Ecotoxicology, UFZ Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany. wb@uoe.ufz.de
Chemosphere
|March 16, 2000
Abstract:
A method for the detection and confirmation of heavy metal toxicants in sediment elutriates based on a urease inhibition assay, ICP-AES analysis and EDTA chelation in the frame of toxicity identification evaluation (TIE) is presented. Zinc was identified as the major toxicant in pHstat elutriates of sediments of the river Saale (Germany). Implications of natural and anthropogenic chelating agents, which are frequently present in environmental samples, on toxicity confirmation of heavy metals based on the toxic unit approach are discussed.