Interpretation of reference toxicant tests in standard test procedures for sediment: How important are they?
- SAIC, Narragansett, RI (United States)
At SAIC`s Environmental Testing Center (ETC) 10-day solid-phase sediment toxicity tests using marine and estuarine amphipods are routinely conducted with a concurrent 96-hour water-only cadmium or sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) reference toxicant test and with a negative control sediment collected from central Long Island Sound (LIS). Reference toxicant tests are performed to evaluate test organism sensitivity. A negative control is used to evaluate laboratory ability to obtain consistent, precise results. Analysis of data from over 100 tests revealed that four situations may arise: results obtained from both the reference toxicant test and the negative control are acceptable; results from both are unacceptable; reference toxicant tests results are acceptable but negative control survival is not; and reference toxicant test results are unacceptable but negative control survival is acceptable. The latter case is of greatest interest during data interpretation. Analyses indicate that failed reference toxicant tests rarely affect interpretation of sediment test data. Therefore, the authors recommend that the use of reference toxicant tests be restricted to documentation of ongoing laboratory performance rather than interpretation of specific test results.
- OSTI ID:
- 49533
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9410273-; TRN: IM9523%%356
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 15. annual meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), Denver, CO (United States), 30 Oct - 3 Nov 1994; Other Information: PBD: 1994; Related Information: Is Part Of Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 15th annual meeting: Abstract book. Ecological risk: Science, policy, law, and perception; PB: 286 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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