A comparison of equilibrium partitioning and critical body residue approaches for predicting toxicity of sediment-associated fluoranthene to freshwater amphipods

Abstract

Equilibrium partitioning (EqP) theory, which has been used to develop sediment quality criteria, predicts that the effects of organic compounds in sediments can be assessed by comparison of organic carbon-normalized sediment concentrations and estimated pore-water concentrations to effects determined in water-only exposures. A complementary approach, the critical body residue (CBR) theory, examines actual body burdens in relation to toxic effects. Critical body residue theory predicts that the narcotic effects of nonpolar compounds should be essentially constant for similar organisms, and narcosis should be observed at body burdens of 2 to 8 μmol/g tissue. This study compares these two approaches for predicting toxicity of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) fluoranthene. The freshwater amphipods Hyalella azteca and Diporeia spp. were exposed for up to 30 d to sediment spiked with radiolabeled fluoranthene at concentrations of 0.1 (trace) to 3,940 nmol/g dry weight (=346 μmol/g organic carbon). Mean survival of Diporeia was generally high (>70%) and not significantly different from that of control animals. This result agrees with EqP predictions, because little mortality was observed for Diporeia in 10-d water-only exposures to fluoranthene in previous studies. After 10-d exposures, mortality of H. azteca was not significantly different from that of controls, even though measured interstitial water concentrations exceeded the previously determined 10-d water-only median lethal concentration (LC50). Equilibrium partitioning overpredicted fluoranthene sediment toxicity in this species. More mortality was observed for H. azteca at later time points, and a 16-d LC50 of 3,550 nmol/g dry weight sediment (291 μmol/g organic carbon) was determined. A body burden of 1.10 μmol fluoranthene-equivalents/g wet weight in H. azteca was associated with 50% mortality after 16-d exposures. Body burdens as high as 5.9 μmol/g wet weight resulted in little mortality in Diporeia. Diporeia, which has limited ability to metabolize fluoranthene and a higher lipid content, appears to be less sensitive than H. azteca, which does metabolize fluoranthene. These results demonstrate that the CBR approach is a useful complement to the EqP approach for the prediction and assessment of toxicity associated with contaminated sediments.