Prediction of the toxic effects of (agro) chemical mixtures on organisms using simple time-based models

Abstract

The lethal effect of a chemical acting alone can be predicted using the simple hyperbolic model, which relies on the chemicals' median lethal time (LT50). However, this model cannot be used to predict mixture toxicity, considering that toxicity in natural ecosystems often results from exposure to mixtures rather than single chemicals. The lethal time addition method was developed to calculate the LT50 of a pesticide mixture from the LT50 of its components. It enables the hyperbolic model to estimate the lethal effects of a mix of pesticides at various exposure times. The hyperbolic model, complemented by the lethal-time addition model, predicted the percentage mortality of Clarias gariepinus and Oreochromis niloticus exposed to binary and quaternary mixtures of atrazine, mancozeb, chlorpyrifos, and lambda-cyhalothrin and estimated the 96 hr LC50 of the pesticide mixture.