Interactions between toxic chemicals and natural environmental factors — A meta-analysis and case studies

Abstract

The paper addresses problems arising from effects of natural environmental factors on toxicity of pollutants to organisms. Most studies on interactions between toxicants and natural factors, including those completed in the EU project NoMiracle (Novel Methods for Integrated Risk Assessment of Cumulative Stressors in Europe) described herein, showed that effects of toxic chemicals on organisms can differ vastly depending purely on external conditions. We compiled data from 61 studies on effects of temperature, moisture and dissolved oxygen on toxicity of a range of chemicals representing pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, plant protection products of bacterial origin and trace metals. In 62.3% cases significant interactions ( p ≤ 0.05 or less) between natural factors and chemicals were found, reaching 100% for the effect of dissolved oxygen on toxicity of waterborne chemicals. The meta-analysis of the 61 studies showed that the null hypothesis assuming no interactions between toxic chemicals and natural environmental factors should be rejected at p = 2.7 × 10 − 82 (truncated product method probability). In a few cases of more complex experimental designs, also second-order interactions were found, indicating that natural factors can modify interactions among chemicals. Such data emphasize the necessity of including information on natural factors and their variation in time and across geographic regions in ecological risk assessment. This can be done only if appropriate ecotoxicological test designs are used, in which test organisms are exposed to toxicants at a range of environmental conditions. We advocate designing such tests for the second-tier ecological risk assessment procedures.