SYMPOSIA PAPER Published: 01 January 1983
STP33503S

Toxicity of a Complex Munitions Wastewater to Aquatic Organisms

Source

The toxicity to freshwater organisms of a complex munitions effluent called condensate wastewater was determined using a novel and relatively economical approach proposed by Pearson and co-workers at the Second Annual ASTM Symposium on Aquatic Toxicology. Applicable only to complex wastewaters in which the concentrations of the individual chemical components are relatively constant over time, the approach emphasizes performing toxicity and related tests on a chemical mixture representative of the actual wastewater, with secondary attention being directed toward testing the individual chemical components, which is the conventional approach. The testing program comprised several series of static acute toxicity tests on authentic wastewater, artificial wastewater, and selected components to identify the conditions under which they are most toxic and to identify the most sensitive species; a series of flow-through acute toxicity tests on the artificial wastewater using the most sensitive species; a series of short-term bioconcentration tests; several early life-stage tests; and, finally, several life-cycle chronic tests. Twelve species representing three trophic levels were employed in the program.

It was concluded that the approach economically and rapidly provided a sufficient data base for assessing the effects of the wastewater on aquatic life. Two modifications were recommended to decrease the cost and time of obtaining the data. One was to perform a static and a flow-through test early in the testing program to identify the most appropriate exposure condition to use in the initial portion of the program. The other was to compute the octanol-water partition coefficients of the organic components of the wastewater before performing any bioconcentration test and to use the coefficients to determine if bioconcentration tests are necessary.

Author Information

Liu, DHW
SRI International, Menlo Park, CA
Bailey, HC
SRI International, Menlo Park, CA
Pearson, JG
U.S. Army Medical Bioengineering Research and Development Laboratory, Frederick, MD
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Details
Developed by Committee: E47
Pages: 135–150
DOI: 10.1520/STP33503S
ISBN-EB: 978-0-8031-4868-0
ISBN-13: 978-0-8031-0255-2