Comparative aquatic toxicology of aromatic hydrocarbons. [Salmo gairdneri, Micropterus salmoides]
Structure-toxicity relationships were investigated for six organic contaminants, representative of three chemical classes, likely to be found in coal conversion process waters and effluents. Using embryo-larval stages of the rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), continuous-flow toxicity tests were performed on hydroxylated aromatic hydrocarbons (phenol, beta-naphthol), azaarenes (quinoline, acridine), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (naphthalene, phenanthrene). Exposure was initiated at fertilization and maintained through 4 days post-hatching. Median lethal concentrations (LC50), based on combined frequencies of embryo-larval mortality and teratogenesis, were used to rank the toxicity of the compounds to each fish species. With the trout, the order of decreasing toxicity was phenanthrene (0.04 mg/L), beta-naphthol (0.07 mg/L), naphthalene (0.11 mg/L), phenol (0.15 mg/L), acridine (0.32 mg/L) and quinoline (11.0 mg/L). The toxicological ranking with the bass was phenanthrene (0.18 mg/L), naphthalene (0.51 mg/L), acridine (1.02 mg/L), beta-naphthol (1.77 mg/L), phenol (2.80 mg/L) and quinoline (7.50 mg/L). For each class of compounds, the chemical with the greater number of aromatic rings always exerted the greater toxicity. In tests with both fish species, beta-naphthol (two rings) was about twice as toxic as phenol (one ring), and phenanthrene (three rings) was nearly three times more toxic than naphthalene (two rings). Acridine (three rings) was seven times more toxic to bass and 34 times more toxic to trout than was quinoline (two rings). This relationship between ring number and toxicity was in excellent agreement with results from acute tests on the same compounds. Furthermore, a close correlation existed between toxicity and n-octanol:water partition coefficients within each class of compounds.
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of Kentucky, Lexington
- OSTI ID:
- 7012009
- Journal Information:
- Fundam. Appl. Toxicol.; (United States), Vol. 3:5
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
FISHES
SENSITIVITY
NAPHTHALENE
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
NAPHTHOLS
PHENANTHRENE
PHENOLS
QUINONES
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
COAL PREPARATION PLANTS
CORRELATIONS
EMBRYOS
LETHAL DOSES
LIQUID WASTES
MOLECULAR STRUCTURE
TERATOGENESIS
WATER POLLUTION
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
AROMATICS
CONDENSED AROMATICS
DOSES
ECOSYSTEMS
HYDROCARBONS
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION
VERTEBRATES
WASTES
560305* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology- Vertebrates- (-1987)
520200 - Environment
Aquatic- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)