Influence of feeding and organism age on the acute toxicity of sodium bromide to Artemia salina.

Bromide is a common ion found in freshwater and marine systems. Although normally at relatively low concentrations, higher levels may occur in point-released wastewaters as well as nonpoint runoff from agricultural or industrial locations where bromide compounds are used as biocides and disinfectants. In this study, the potential toxicity of NaBr in a saltwater environment was studied using the brine shrimp, Artemia salina. The confounding factors of organism age at test initiation and pre-test feeding were included in the test design. Survival of brine shrimp nauplii in several NaBr treatments up to 11,000 mg Br-/L (measured) was assessed after 24 h in both fed- and unfed-tests. In tests with unfed organisms, only the youngest (<24 h old) nauplii had acceptable control survival (≥90%), while control survival for all of the tests with fed organisms (<24 h old, <48 h old, <72 h old) was acceptable. There was also greater and more erratic mortality in the unfed tests. These data indicate feeding A. salina prior to initiating a short-term acute test improved performance. Not feeding the test organisms, especially in longer tests or when using >24 h old organisms, may result in excessive control mortality and an invalid test. These studies show that, when healthy organisms are used in the toxicity tests, 11,000 mg/L of Br- (~14,200 mg/L NaBr) is not acutely toxic to Artemia salina.

Effects of 3-Nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one on Survival, Growth and Metamorphosis in the Northern Leopard Frog, Lithobates pipiens.

New explosive formulations are being developed to be less sensitive to impact and inadvertent explosion, increasing safety for the warfighter. Since testing and training make environmental releases imminent, the toxicity of 3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one (NTO), a component of Insensitive Munitions eXplosive (IMX) formulations, was assessed in a one-generation study to the northern leopard frog (Lithobates ( = Rana) pipiens). Because NTO in water creates acidic conditions, acute studies were conducted with non-pH-adjusted NTO, while a long-term (70-d) study was conducted with neutralized NTO. In the acute study, 48-h and 7-d LC50s were ~250 mg NTO/L. In the long-term study, tadpoles were dead by day 2 in 11,350 mg/L NTO, and by day 63 in 8382 mg/L. The 70-d LC50 was 3670 mg (neutralized) NTO/L. The number of organisms reaching complete metamorphosis was reduced by NTO; the lowest IC25 was 1999 mg NTO/L for the Number Completing Metamorphosis. The NOECs for Time to Front Limb Eruption or Time to Metamorphosis were the same at 1346 mg/L. Histopathology did not significantly distinguish between NTO-exposed and unexposed animals, although possible effects on the density of spermatogonia in NTO-exposed males was suggested. The test data indicate that acute toxicity to ambient NTO can be attributed primarily to its acidic nature; relatively low chronic toxicity of neutralized NTO is due to delays in metamorphosis. The consequence from this latter observation may be ecologically significant as delays of even a few days could increase mortality through predation and/or loss of the aquatic medium in temporary water bodies.

Identifying the cause of toxicity in an algal whole effluent toxicity study - an unanticipated toxicant.

Toxicity was observed in whole effluent toxicity (WET) studies with the freshwater alga, Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata, in three consecutive monthly studies, (NOEC=50-75%). Toxicity was not observed to Ceriodaphnia dubia or the fathead minnow, Pimephales promelas in concurrent studies. Selected toxicity identification evaluation (TIE) tests were conducted in a tiered approach to eliminate possible toxicants and progressively identify the causative agent. Filtration following alkaline adjustment (pH 10 or 11) was effective in eliminating significant growth effects and also reduced phosphate concentration. The TIE studies confirmed that the observed effluent toxicity was caused by excess ortho-phosphate in the effluent not by overstimulation or related to unfavorable N:P ratios; but due to direct toxicity. The 96-h 25% inhibition concentration (IC25) of ortho-phosphate to P. subcapitata was 3.4 mg L⁻¹ while the maximum acceptable toxicant concentration was 4.8 mg L⁻¹. This study illustrates the value of multi-species testing and also provides an example of an effective TIE using algae identifying an unanticipated toxicant.

Development and validation of models predicting the toxicity of major seawater ions to the mysid shrimp, Americamysis bahia.

The concentration and balance of major ions that comprise total dissolved solids (TDS) can influence the toxicity of effluents discharged to freshwater and marine environments. An additional complicating factor in waters released to saltwater systems is the effluent salinity since the toxicity of major ions changes with the salinity of the test solution. A study was conducted to evaluate the toxicity of six major seawater ions (bicarbonate, borate, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sulfate) to the mysid shrimp, Americamysis bahia, at salinities of 10 and 20/1000. Logistic regression models were developed to predict organism survival at deficient and excess concentrations of the ions. Calcium and potassium caused significant mortality to mysid shrimp in both excess and deficient (relative to artificial seawater) solutions. Bicarbonate, borate, and magnesium displayed significant toxicity only in excess concentrations, while sulfate had no adverse impacts at any of the concentrations tested. As the salinity of the test solutions decreased, mysid shrimp tolerated increasingly lower calcium and potassium concentrations. Similarly, as salinity increased, the upper tolerance levels of calcium, potassium, and magnesium also increased. The models developed during these studies, and similar models developed by other researchers, were used to evaluate 11 actual effluents with unexplained toxicity that might be associated with TDS ions. The models correctly identified calcium as the primary toxicant in 9 of the 11 effluents. These results indicate the models can be used as an important tool to identify toxicity associated with major seawater ions.