Biological Effects of Surfactants

Biological Effects of Surfactants examine the effects of anionic, non-ionic, cationic surfactants, and detergents on a wide range of organisms-including bacteria, cyanobacteria, flagellates, algae, higher plants, and invertebrates-populations, communities, and ecosystems. The author establishes new quantitative characteristics of the effects and presents study results on newly discovered phenomena. While proposing and substatiating new approaches for testing, assessing, and characterizing the biological activities and hazards of substances, the book illustrates how the data obtained can be used to develop effective environmental remediation and protection measures to improve water quality.

Understanding the role of aquatic biota and the impact of pollution and chemical substances that enter aquatic ecosystems is crucial to the assessment, prevention, and remediation of damaged environments. Biological Effects of Surfactants synthesizes the most important findings from hundreds of articles and the author's current experiments on the biological effects of synthetic surfactants and detergents on individual organisms, populations, communities, and ecosystems. This book offers a new perspective of the hazards of pollution.The book draws upon concepts in hydrobiology, biogeochemical cycling, and the assimilative capacity of water-beyond the self-purification capabilities of bacteria and nutrient cycling-to examine the effects of anionic, non-ionic, and cationic surfactants as well as detergent mixtures on a wide range of organisms including bacteria, cyanobacteria, flagellates, algae, higher plants, and invertebrates. The author, a distinguished member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, establishes new quantitative characteristics of the effects and presents study results reflecting newly discovered phenomena. While proposing and substantiating new priorities and approaches for testing, assessing, and characterizing the biological activities and hazards of substances, he illustrates how the data obtained can be used to develop effective environmental remediation and protection measures to improve water quality.Biological Effects of Surfactants lays an excellent foundation for scientists to explore how hazardous wastes are absorbed in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, determine what is required for remediation and restoring water quality, and design the best approach to counteract the toxic effects of manmade surfactants using biological methods, including phytoremediation.

Foreword by Professor M.E. Vinogradov, Member of Russian Academy of Sciences, and Professor V.D. Fedorov Foreword by Dr. Steven C. McCutcheon Acknowledgments Abbreviations Preface Introduction ANTHROPOGENIC IMPACTS AND SYNTHETIC SURFACTANTS AS POLLUTANTS OF AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS Criteria and Priorities in Assessing the Hazardous Impacts on Aquatic BiotaEcological Hazard and Ecosystemic Consequences of the Effect of Anthropogenic Substances on Hydrobionts Biological Effects of Substances and the Need of Refining the Arsenal of Biotesting Methods Substantiating the Need for Further Research into Biological Effects of Synthetic Surfactants Ambiguity of Biological Effects Caused by Surfactants Pollution of Aquatic Ecosystems by Synthetic Surfactants Synthetic Surfactants and Self-Purification of Water Including its Filtration by Mollusks ORGANISMS AND METHODS Organisms: Substantiation of Choice and Aspects of Methods Used Chemical Substances Used BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF WATERS CONTAINING ANIONIC SURFACTANTS Biological Effects of Alkyl Sulfates. Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS)Biological Effects of Alkyl Benzene Sulfonates (ABS) Biological Effects of High-Polymer Synthetic Surfactants Concluding Remarks BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF WATERS CONTAINING NONIONOGENIC SURFACTANTSBiological effects of Nonionogenic Surfactants in a System With BacteriaBiological Effects of Nonionogenic Surfactants on Phytoplankton Organisms Biological Effects of Nonionogenic Surfactants on Higher Eukaryotes Biological Effects of Nonionogenic Surfactants and Their Hazards to Aquatic Ecosystems BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF WATERS CONTAINING CATIONIC SURFACTANTS Biological Effects of Ethonium Biological Effects of Tetradecyl Trimethyl Ammonium Bromide (TDTMA) Biological Effects of Benzethonium ChlorideOther Data on the Biological Activities of Cationic Surfactants BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF SURFACTANT-CONTAINING MIXTURES AND OTHER PREPARATIONS Impact of Aquatic Media with Surfactant-Containing Mixtures on Hydrobionts: Earlier Works New results on the Impact of Surfactant-Containing Mixtures on Autotrophic Organisms New results on the Impact of Surfactant-Containing Mixtures on Heterotrophic Organisms Assessment of the Biological Activities of Other Preparations and Samples Some Concluding Remarks BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF SYNTHETIC SURFACTANTS AND PARTICIPATION OF HYDROBIONTS IN WATER PURIFICATIONSelf-purification of Water and the Role of Hydrobionts in Aquatic Ecosystems Water Purification and Some Applied Problems Anthropogenic Impact on Hydrobionts: Assessment of the Ecological Hazards Generalizing Remarks Conclusions References Addendum Subject Index