[Quenching of the luminescence of phosphorescent bacteria as a test for assessing the toxicity of the phenol components of sewage].

The object of this work was to estimate whether the luminescence of luminescent bacteria could be used as a biological test for assessment of the toxicity of phenol compounds in sewage. The toxicity of phenol compounds for luminescent bacteria was compared in terms of three indices: the quenching of luminescence, the inhibition of dehydrogenase activity and the ability to grow. Among the three indices, the quenching of luminescence was characterized by the highest sensitivity and the most rapid response.