Linear alkylbenzene sulfonate tolerance in bacteria isolated from sediment of tropical water bodies polluted with detergents.

The discharge of untreated detergent-bearing waste introduces linear alklcylbenzene sulfonates (LAS) to the aquatic environment. The surfactant persists in some streams and rivers in Nigeria, some is adsorbed to suspended materials and end in the sediment of the receiving water bodies. In this study, bacteria isolated from sediments of some tropical detergent-effluent-polluted streams were tested for tolerance to LAS using the media dilution technique.