A novel framework for industrial pesticide effluent assessment: Integrating chemical screening, multi-endpoint...

Industrial pesticide effluents pose substantial risks to aquatic ecosystems, yet comprehensive understanding of their toxicological impacts remains limited. This study presents an integrated approach to evaluate the ecological risks of pesticide manufacturing effluents through chemical screening and multi-endpoints biological responses. Using zebrafish embryos as a model organism, we demonstrated that effluent discharge point (EDP) sample induced 100 % mortality, while diluted samples exhibited significant developmental toxicity, cardiovascular injury, immunosuppression, and behavioral alterations. Non-targeted metabolomics analysis revealed the molecular mechanisms underlying these toxic responses. Through chemical screening and targeted quantification, we identified three predominant azole fungicides - propiconazole (2.11 μg/L), hexaconazole (13.3 μg/L), and tebuconazole (18.66 μg/L) - that exhibited synergistic toxicity. Notably, our innovative meta-analysis framework based on literature data validated the toxicological profiles of detected compounds, providing an efficient alternative to conventional bioassays. This study establishes a comprehensive framework for assessing industrial effluent toxicity and demonstrates the value of integrating chemical analysis with biological responses for environmental risk assessment.