Abstract

Water pollution has become a global problem as various pollutants like heavy metals and toxic chemicals are discharged without prior treatment into the water. With the development of industrial production, a large volume of wastewater containing phenols was discharged into the aquatic environment. Moreover, chemical leakage further increased the emission of phenols into aquatic systems. Phenol and its methylated derivative (cresols) were selected due to their extensive use in industry and ecotoxicity to freshwater and marine organisms. This study focused on the ecotoxicity of phenol and m-cresol on aquatic systems. This paper emphasizes on the determination of 96hr LC50 value of phenol & m-cresol for the fish, Labeo rohita. The acute toxicity test was performed according to the standard methods in APHA and the value was calculated by probit analysis. The fish specimens were acclimatized in the laboratory conditions for 15 days. The stock solution of phenol & m-cresol was prepared and the fish fingerlings were treated with various concentrations ranging from 1 mg/l to 50 mg/l for 96 hours. The results showed that the median lethal concentration (LC50) of phenol & mcresol for the fish, Labeo rohita is 3212 & 2957 mg/l. The susceptibility of Labeo rohita to the lethal effect of phenol & m-cresol were dependent on duration as well as on concentration. The mortality of the fishes is directly proportional to the concentration

Authors and Affiliations