Aquatic phyto-toxicity of 23 pesticides applied at expected environmental concentrations

Abstract

Environment Canada uses an Expected Environmental Concentration (EEC) in evaluating the hazard of pesticides to nontarget aquatic organisms. This concentration is calculated by assuming an overspray of a 15 cm deep waterbody at the label application rate. The EEC of pesticides is then related to the EC50 (concentration causing a 50% reduction in a chosen toxicity endpoint) for a given aquatic test organism. At present, the use of an uncertainty factor is suggested in the literature if only a few species are tested because of important interspecific differences in pesticide sensitivity. The phytotoxicity of the EEC of 23 different pesticides to ten algae (24 h inhibition of 14C uptake) and one vascular plant (7-day growth inhibition) was determined in an effort to examine the question of interspecific sensitivity and its relation to the development of pesticide registration guidelines. Chemicals included five triazine herbicides (atrazine, cyanazine, hexazinone, metribuzin, and simazine), four sulfonylurea herbicides (chlorsulfuron, metsulfuron-methyl, ethametsulfuron-methyl, triasulfuron), two phenoxyalkane herbicides (2,4-D and MCPA), two pyridine herbicides (picloram and triclopyr), a substituted urea, an amine derivative, and an imidazolinone herbicide (tebuthiuron, glyphosate and imazethapyr, respectively), a bipyridylium (diquat), a hydroxybenxonitrile (bromoxynil), an aldehyde (acrolein) and an acetanilide (metolachlor) herbicide, as well as two carbamate insecticides (carbofuran and carbaryl) and a triazole derivative fungicide (propiconazole). Test organisms were selected based on ecological relevance and present use in test protocols. Organisms included green algae ( Scenedesmus quadricauda and Selenastrum capricornutum), diatoms ( Nitzschia sp. and Cyclotella meneghiana), cyanobacteria ( Microcystis aeruginosa, Oscillatoria sp., Pseudoanabaena sp., Anabaena inaequalis and Aphanizomenon flos-aquae) and a floating vascular plant, duckweed ( Lemna minor). The five triazine herbicides, acrolein and diquat inhibited the carbon uptake of all algae, diatoms and cyanobacteria by more than 50%. Two other pesticides, carbaryl and tebuthiuron, caused more than 50% inhibition in 90% of the algae tested. Nine of the 23 pesticides, five of which were triazine herbicides, were therefore highly phytotoxic to algae. Twelve pesticides inhibited growth of duckweed by more than 50%. Once again, all five of the triazine herbicides were among this group, as well as three sulfonylurea herbicides and acrolein, diquat, metolachlor and tebuthiuron. Duckweed was the most sensitive organism tested, being equally affected by all pesticides causing algal phytotoxicity (with the exception of carbaryl), as well as being acutely affected by sulfonylurea herbicides. Green algae were least sensitive to diquat; diatoms and one cyanobacterium were the only organisms that showed sensitivity to glyphosate. Through testing the phytotoxicity of a variety of agricultural pesticides to a wide range of algal taxa, it is evident that there are considerable differences in sensitivity among species and that the use of an uncertainty factor is necessary to provide an acceptable margin of safety in evaluating the hazard presented by these chemicals to the aquatic environment.