Saggio con l'ostracode Heterocypris incongruens: applicazione per la valutazione ecotossicologica di terre e rocce da scavo trattate con agenti schiumogeni

The evaluation of different contaminants (regulated and emerging substances) in environmental matrices (water, soil, sediments) is today one of the most important challenges for the scientific community. Useful methodologies for chemical analyses of different contaminants and for evaluating their possible effects on ecosystems need to be found. Ecotoxicological tests performed on matrices in real study cases are a valid tool for obtaining information on chemical mixtures in the environment. In this paper, the application of the test with Heterocypris incongruens (Crustacea, Ostracoda) to excavated soil from mechanized tunnelling, in which commercial foaming agents are used, is reported. The test organism is an autochthonous species; it lives in the water-soil interface and therefore is particularly suitable for assessing the possible effects of residual concentrations of the anionic surfactants of foaming agents used in excavated soils.