Effects of spill-treating agents on growth kinetics of marine microalgae.

•We studied the effect of four spill-treating agents on microalgal growth kinetics.•The toxic effects were manifested on the logistic growth parameters.•A reliable description of the growth kinetics was obtained by a bivariate model.•The standard toxicological approach, although simpler, is more arbitrary.•I. galbana was the most sensitivity microalga and Agma O.S.D. 569 the least toxic.