Abstract
For a number of years, luminescent bacteria have been used as an indicator species for acute toxicity of substances in aquatic marine environments. Various other higher organisms have been used for this exact same purpose. Many of the higher organism test evaluations have been used successfully, but they have a few limitations, such as a low number of organisms exposed to toxicant during a test, less than desirable precision and the need for highly trained individuals to run the tests. One luminescent bacterial bioassay includes many organisms, can be run rapidly and requires training in sample dilution techniques. ASTM Subcommittee D02.12 has been working to develop an ecotoxicity method to evaluate the effects of lubricant formulations on luminescent bacteria. The theory describing this method, as well as the D02.12 method development activities, will be discussed.
