Environmental Fate and Aquatic Toxicology

Ecotoxicology

Toxicology testing evaluates the direct impact a chemical substance or product has on living organisms; it is generally a required testing component for product registration, regulatory purposes and third party labeling for product marketing.  Many agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the European Union (EU), and REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals), regulate chemicals and environmentally acceptable products in the market and require test data on their ecotoxicological effects.   

Products that commonly undergo toxicology testing include lubricants, oils, fuels, detergents, pet care products, cleaning materials, and other product types that experience discharge, accidental spilling, or are fully intended to come into contact with the environment like personal care products.

Chronic or Acute Toxicity can be measured and is commonly tested against algae, crustaceans, fish, oligochaete, daphnia and other small invertebrate aquatic organisms.

• Chronic Analysis typically consists of exposing organisms to a level of the material and then measuring the bioaccumulation of that material in the organisms over a specified exposure time.
• Acute Analysis typically is done by establishing the LD-50 concentration of the test compound to organisms.

Aquatic Toxicology:

Aquatic Invertebrates
OECD 202: Daphnia sp; Acute Immobilization
OECD 211: Daphnia Magna; Reproduction Test
OECD 218/219: Sediment-Water Toxicity Test
OECD 225: Lumbriculus Toxicity Test
Mysidopsis bahia; acute toxicity test

Fish and other vertebrates
OECD 203: Fish; Acute Toxicity
OECD 210: Early Life Toxicity Test
OECD 212:  Short Term Toxicity Test
OECD 215: Fish; Juvenile Growth Test
OPPTS 850.1500: Fish Life Cycle Toxicity

Aquatic plants
OECD 201: Algae Growth Inhibition Test
OECD 221: Lemna species; Growth Inhibition
OECD 238: Myriophyllum spicatum toxicity test

Environmental Fate:

Environmental Fate testing evaluates how a substance will react in the environment once in contact with water or soil.  Testing generally measures how a material transforms in water, soil, and other environmental conditions.  It can also evaluate the bioaccumulation potential that a substance has in biota like Oligochaetes and Fish.

Customers Commonly request the following methods:

Transformation in Water and Soil
OECD 106: Adsorption – Desorption Using a Batch Equilibrium Method
OECD 111: Hydrolysis as a Function of pH
OECD 307: Aerobic and Anaerobic Transformation in Soil
OECD 308: Aerobic and Anaerobic Transformation in Aquatic Sediment Systems
OECD 309: Aerobic Mineralisation in Surface Water – Simulation Biodegradation
OECD 316: Phototransformation of Chemicals in Water – Direct Photolysis

Bioaccumulation Methods
OECD 305: Bioaccumulation in Fish: Aqueous and Dietary Exposure
OECD 315: Bioaccumulation in Sediment-dwelling Benthic Oligochaetes
OECD 317: Bioaccumulation in Terrestrial Oligochaetes

Another commonly requested study analyzing a material’s Environmental Fate is Biodegradation Testing.

For more information on Environmental Fate & Toxicology testing, contact the lab at 847-483-9950 or info@situtest.com.