The removal of dyes present in industrial effluent has received great attention in the past few years. This is partly due to increasing environmental awareness and the implementation of ever stricter environmental rules. However, some treatments for color removal from these effluents do not guarantee the absence of other secondary toxic substances, often originating from the treatment process itself. The aim of this study is to evaluate the toxicity level of the adsorbent Neem. used in adsorption processes for color removal, as well as that of the dye solution before and after the adsorption process. The toxicity tests were carried out according to the Environment Agency FATMA regulation no. 017/02. They consisted of exposing representative microorganisms from the environment, for a certain time interval, to several concentrations of one or more substances, under different environmental conditions, and then evaluating the toxic effects. The results show that the Neem leaf extract had a harmful affect on the test organism used. Thus, it is recommended that the leaf extract is removed prior to effluent treatment, since the results of this study indicate that this will reduce the toxicity of the effluent and also improve the efficiency of the adsorption process. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.