Acute Ecotoxicity Potential of Untreated Tannery Wastewater Release in Arequipa, Southern Peru

Kevin Tejada-Meza, Armando Arenazas-Rodríguez, Pablo A. Garcia-Chevesich, Carmen Flores-Farfan, Lino Morales-Paredes, Giuliana Romero-Mariscal, Juana Ticona-Quea, Gary Vanzin and Jonathan O. Sharp ()
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Kevin Tejada-Meza: Facultad de Ingeniería de Procesos, Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa, Arequipa 04000, Peru
Armando Arenazas-Rodríguez: Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa, Arequipa 04000, Peru
Pablo A. Garcia-Chevesich: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USA
Carmen Flores-Farfan: Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa, Arequipa 04000, Peru
Lino Morales-Paredes: Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Formales, Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa, Arequipa 04000, Peru
Giuliana Romero-Mariscal: Facultad de Ingeniería de Procesos, Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa, Arequipa 04000, Peru
Juana Ticona-Quea: Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Formales, Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa, Arequipa 04000, Peru
Gary Vanzin: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USA
Jonathan O. Sharp: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hydrologic Science and Engineering Program, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USA

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 21, 1-21

Abstract: The centralized Rio Seco Industrial Park (RSIP) tannery collective in the Southern Peruvian city of Arequipa releases untreated tannery wastewater into a proximal creek that is a tributary of the Chili River. As industrial leather tanning wastewater contains high concentrations of metal(loid)s, salts, dyes, and organics, this complex mixture could exert a myriad of toxicological effects on the surrounding ecosystem. The RSIP effluent was analyzed to quantify the acute ecotoxicity and ecotoxicological status of this untreated industrial wastewater at multiple trophic levels with the following bioindicators: the floating macrophyte Lemna minor , invertebrates Daphnia magna and Physa venustula , and the amphibian Xenopus laevis . A physicochemical characterization of the RSIP effluent revealed a highly contaminated waste stream. In addition to chromium (10.4 ± 0.4 mg/L) and other toxic metals, the water harbored extremely high concentrations of total dissolved solids (67,770 ± 15,600 mg/L), biochemical oxygen demand (1530 ± 290 mg/L) and total nitrogen (490 ± 10 mg/L). The toxicological responses of certain bioindicator species tested were evaluated after exposure to 0, 1.5, 3.0, and 4.5% untreated tannery wastewater blended with dechlorinated tap water. L. minor experienced a significant decrease in the number of fronds, wet weight, and dry weight at the lowest blended wastewater of 1.5%. Bioassays with D. magna showed the effect on neonatal mortality with a calculated LC 50 of 1.1% for 48 h. Bioassays with P. venustula embryos showed high sensitivity to diluted effluent with complete mortality at 3.0% wastewater and above. Finally, X. laevis showed a high sensitivity to the dilutions with an LC 50 of 1.6 for embryos and 1.8% for tadpoles. Although RSIP wastewater contains many potentially toxic components, chromium and total dissolved solids, with a major contribution from sodium, are best correlated with acute toxicity variables. This suggests that conductivity or analogous measurements could provide a rapid and affordable forensic tool to query acute ecosystem pressures. Collectively, the results indicate that the release of untreated tannery wastewater from RSIP can exert pronounced acute impacts across trophic levels with the need for treatment or dilution to below 1% of total flow. As the assays addressed acute toxicity, the necessary treatment and/or dilution to mitigate chronic effects is likely much lower. In conclusion, untreated RSIP tannery wastewaters represent an ecological risk to downstream aquatic ecosystems; this needs to be addressed to prevent current and future environmental consequences.

Keywords: industrial wastewater; Daphnia magna; Lemna minor; Physa venustula; Xenopus laevis; Latin America (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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