A laboratory river model for the study of self-purification inhibition in a stream containing toxic substances is presented. It enables an engineering - technological prediction of the impact of toxic substances or wastewaters on dissolved oxygen (DO) profile in an organically polluted river downstream from the point of entry of toxic effluent thus providing rapidly and inexpensively significant design information to an environmental scientist or engineer. The method was applied to the toxicity evaluation of wastewaters from electroplating industry. The effects of copper, cyanide (representing two significant constituents of this type of wastewaters) and wastewater from electroplating industry on the biodegradation of organic municipal pollution in receiving stream were evaluated experimentally.

Toxicity, surface waters, self-purification, biodegradation, laboratory river model, DO profiles
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© IWA Publishing 1992
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