A COMPARISON OF STANDARD ACUTE TOXICITY TESTS WITH RAPID-SCREENING TOXICITY TESTS

Abstract

This study compared the relative sensitivity of five inexpensive, rapid toxicity tests to the sensitivity of five standard aquatic acute toxicity tests through literature review and testing. The rapid toxicity tests utilized organisms that require little culturing or handling prior to testing: a freshwater rotifer (Branchionus calyciflorus); brine shrimp (Artemia salina); lettuce (Lactuca sativa); and two microbial tests (Photobacterium phosphoreum–Microtoxr̀ test, and a mixture of bacterial species–the Polytoxr̀ test). Standard acute toxicity test species included water fleas (Daphnia magna and Ceriodaphnia dubia), green algae (Selenastrum capricornutum), fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas), and mysid shrimp (Mysidopsis bahia). Sensitivity comparisons between rapid and standard acute toxicity tests were based on LC50/EC50 data from 11 test chemicals. Individually, the lettuce and rotifer tests ranked most similar in sensitivity to the standard tests, while Microtox fell just outside the range of sensitivities represented by the group of standard acute toxicity tests. The brine shrimp and Polytox tests were one or more orders of magnitude different from the standard acute toxicity tests for most compounds. The lettuce, rotifer, and Microtox tests could be used as a battery for preliminary toxicity screening of chemicals. Further evaluation of complex “real-world” environmental samples is recommended.