Abstract
Pesticide adjuvants (PAs) are important components of pesticide. Nonetheless, limited information is available regarding their toxic effects on biota in terrestrial ecosystem. In the present study, the mortality, growth inhibition ratio, and avoidance behavior of Eisenia fetida were examined to investigate the ecotoxicological effects of toluene, xylene, and trichloroethylene and further their mixture. The 24 h median lethal concentration (24 h-LC50) of the three PAs were 300.23, 1190.45, and 5332.36 mg/kg, and the 48 h-LC50 values were 221.62, 962.89, and 4522.41 mg/kg, respectively. The mixture exhibited significant synergistic effect on the E. fetida. There was significant growth inhibition on E. fetida by the tested PAs. The avoidance threshold values of E. fetida for the tested PAs were 1100 mg/kg, 250 mg/kg, 5000 mg/kg, and 25% of the mixture, respectively. The results evaluated the toxic effects of the three PAs and their mixture on E. fetida, provided a basis for ecotoxicological risk assessment of PAs in the soil ecosystem.
Highlights
The results evaluated the toxic effects of the three volatile Pesticide adjuvants (PAs) and their ternary mixture on E. fetida at an individual level and obtained a more comprehensive potential ecotoxicological risk evaluation of PAs on the soil ecosystem
The mixing ratio of three PAs was prepared as 1:1:1 based on the 48 h-LC50 values of each chemical derived from separated tests, which were set as 100% mixture stock solution
The concentrations of toluene were prepared as the lower treatments (1000~10,000 mg/kg), there were no mortalities found for worms during the 14 days
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Earthworms are the base of many food chains and are exposed to soil contaminants via their intestine or skin, which can further affect the higher trophic level terrestrial organism populations through food chain They are easy to handle under laboratory conditions and are used to quantify different physiological and behavior parameters. The toxicities of three volatile PAs (toluene, xylene, and trichloroethylene) and their ternary mixture on E. fetida were assessed by the acute lethal toxicity test, the growth inhibition test, and the avoidance test. The results evaluated the toxic effects of the three volatile PAs and their ternary mixture on E. fetida at an individual level and obtained a more comprehensive potential ecotoxicological risk evaluation of PAs on the soil ecosystem
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