Effect of storage conditions of soil on ecotoxicological assessment

The bacterial bioluminescence and the Daphnia tests were used to assess toxicity of three different soil samples stored under various conditions. Depending on the kind of contaminants, e.g. heavy metals or hydrocarbons, on the nature of the vessel walls and on the storage temperature and time, non-uniform, but distinct differences in the results of ecotoxicological tests were observed. Soil samples contaminated with organic pollutants showed a decrease of toxicity along with a decrease of volatile organic compounds with time. In contrast, samples containing heavy metals showed an increase of toxicity with time. Results indicated that more attention should be given to storage conditions of soils used in ecotoxicological investigations.