Acute toxicity of para‐nonylphenol to saltwater animals

Abstract

Abstractpara‐Nonylphenol (PNP), a mixture of alkylphenols used in producing nonionic surfactants, is distributed widely in surface waters and aquatic sediments, where it can affect saltwater species. This article describes a database for acute toxicity of PNP derived for calculating a national saltwater quality criterion. Using a flow‐through exposure system with measured concentrations, we tested early life stages of four species of saltwater invertebrates and two species of fish. Static 96‐h tests were also conducted on zoeal Homarus americanus, embryo‐larval Mulinia lateralis, and larval Pleuronectes americanus. The number of organisms surviving the flow‐through test was measured at 2, 4, 8, and 12 h and daily through day 7. Mortality for most species plateaued by 96 h. The ranked sensitivities (96‐h 50% lethal concentrations, measured in micrograms per liter) for the species tested were 17 for Pleuronectes americanus, 37.9 (48‐h 50% effective concentration) for Mulinia lateralis, 59.4 for Paleomonetes vulgaris, 60.6 for Americamysis bahia (formerly Mysidopsis bahia), 61.6 for Leptocheirus plumulosos, 70 for Menidia beryllina, 71 for Homarus americanus, 142 for Cyprinodon variegatus, and > 195 for Dyspanopius sayii. Values for the seven most sensitive of these species ranged over a factor of only 4.2. The narrow range of responses for PNP implies that exceeding a threshold concentration would endanger a large proportion of the aquatic community.