Effects of sulfate on the acute toxicity of selenate to freshwater organisms.

This study evaluated the relationship between ambient sulfate concentrations and acute selenate toxicity to freshwater aquatic life. Previous studies indicated that increasing sulfate concentrations reduced selenate bioconcentration and toxicity. However, these studies generally were not conducted in a manner that was conducive to their use in deriving a water quality criterion. We compiled results from previous studies and generated additional data to help define a selenate-sulfate relationship for acute toxicity. Selenate toxicity was determined in standardized test waters with varying sulfate concentrations using Ceriodaphnia dubia, Gammarus pseudolimnaeus, Hyalella azteca, and Pimephales promelas as the test organisms. Analysis of test results indicated that a significant relationship does exist between acute selenate toxicity and ambient sulfate concentrations. Data from these tests and previous studies were combined to develop a statistical relationship sufficiently robust to derive a sulfate-dependent water quality criterion for selenate. The relationship is similar to those commonly derived between divalent metals and hardness to adjust water quality criteria.

Acute toxicity of sodium selenate to two daphnids and three amphipods.

This study evaluated the acute toxicity of sodium selenate to two daphnid and three gammarid amphipod species. The daphnids, Ceriodaphnia dubia and Daphnia pulex, were evaluated in 48-hour static tests and the amphipods, Gammarus pseudolimnaeus, Gammarus lacustris, and Hyalella azteca, were evaluated in 96-hour static and flow-through tests. Tests resulted in mean LC50's of 1.92, 9.12, 1.82, 3.05, and 1.95 mg/L selenium for C. dubia, D. pulex, G. pseudolimnaeus, G. lacustris, and H. azteca, respectively. The LC50's for the G. pseudolimnaeus tests are more than 30-fold higher than previously reported LC50's for the same or similar species. The explanation for these differing results appears to be partially, but not entirely, explained by differences in ambient pH between the new studies and previous ones. Depending on how the new data are included in U.S. EPA's selenium freshwater quality criterion data set, the selenate acute water quality criterion (i.e., Criterion Maximum Concentration) increases from 12.8 to as high as 583 microg/L selenium.