Tolerance effect of Phenol on survival of three species of earthworm

The toxicity of phenol levels in soils was assessed by testing the impact on response and behavior of three earthworm species Eudrilus eugeniae, Pheretima posthuma and Eisenia foetida. All the three species showed swelling when they were initially introduced in to the soil with pollutants, while in higher concentration they expressed fast wriggling movement, while compared to their slow movements in non contaminated soil (control) and all of them secreted certain viscous fluid to the soil. Exposure to 500 ppm phenol was highly toxic to all the three species and all the test organisms died within 15 minutes. The results indicated that the tolerance depends on species of earthworms and permeability of phenol through the skin. The data presented in this paper provides useful information for evaluating the potential risk of phenol to soil organisms.