BACKGROUND: The reduction of toxicity in secondary effluents by solar photo-Fenton has not been widely studied. In this present work, a strategy combining monitoring of micropollutants and application of a selected battery of bioassays has been applied to evaluate the effectiveness of the solar photo-Fenton process for secondary effluent treatment at neutral pH in a raceway pond reactor (RPR) following two operating strategies: sequential iron dosage and the use of Fe(III)-EDDS complex at pilotplant scale. Theappliedbatteryofbioassays comprises in vivo(algal growth inhibition test) andin vitro, endocrinedisruptor tests (androgenic/ glucocorticoid activity and estrogenicity) and cytotoxicity tests. RESULTS: The results obtained revealed high efficiency of micropollutant removal (>99%) by both strategies assayed. Regarding toxicity, androgenic/ glucocorticoid activity andestrogenicitywere efficiently removed in a similar fashion, and the relatively low potential phytotoxicity and cytotoxicity was also attenuated. Both RPR strategies are able to enhance the quality of municipal effluents fromchemical and toxicological points of view. CONCLUSION: To enablewater reuse, the feasibility of solar photo-Fenton reaction at neutral pH in open reactors for ecotoxicity andmicropollutant removal in secondary municipal wastewater has been demonstrated for the first time. (C) 2017 Society of Chemical Industry