Acute toxicity of a complex mixture of synthetic hexachloroethane (HC) smoke combustion products: I. Comparative toxicity to freshwater aquatic organisms

Abstract

The acute toxicity of a synthetic hexachloroethane (HC) smoke combustion products mixture to nine freshwater aquatic organisms was determined. Synthetic HC smoke combustion products are a complex mixture containing Zn, Cd, As, Pb, Al, CCl4, C2Cl4, C2Cl6, C6Cl6 and HCl. Juvenile fish exposed to this mixture for 96 h included the fathead minnow, bluegill, channel catfish and rainbow trout. Invertebrates tested for 48 h included the neonate water flea, early young amphipod, midge larva and the mayfly larva. The effect of the mixture on the growth of the green alga Selenastrum capricornutum was also studied. The dissolved components of the synthetic HC smoke combustion products mixture were found to be quite toxic to a number of freshwater species, especially the algae, rainbow trout and water flea. A test solution containing only 5.6% of a stock mixture of these components caused both an algistatic and algicidal effect on the alga. The rainbow trout and the water flea had 96- and 48-h LC50s of 2.2 and 9.3% of the stock solution, respectively.