Evaluation of aquatic toxicity and bioaccumulation of C8‐ and C9‐alkylphenol ethoxylates

Abstract

The extensive database of acute and chronic aquatic toxicity data for alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs) and selected biodegradation intermediates was reviewed and summarized for freshwater and saltwater aquatic microorganisms, algae, invertebrates, and fish inhabiting cold and warm water bodies. Most acute toxicity studies that tested APE‐9 and APE‐10, the most common commercially relevant APEs, reported results that ranged from about 1,000 to 10,000 μg/L. Results from studies testing alkylphenols, intermediate by‐products of APE biodegradation, ranged from about 20 to 3,000 μg/L. Chronic values are a factor of about 2 to 10 lower. Although most studies used one of several common species and standard protocols to assay conventional endpoints, many nontraditional species and toxicological endpoints were also used. This toxicological database encompasses virtually all important types of aquatic habitats and classes of aquatic species. Bioaccumulation data from both laboratory and field studies indicate that alkylphenols have a low to moderate bioaccumulation potential. Fresh weight, nonlipid‐based bioconcentration factors (BCFs) measured in the laboratory ranged from < 1 to 1,250 for fish and 1 to 3,400 for invertebrates, whereas field bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) ranged from 6 to 487, with most values < 100. Overall, these data provide an extensive and useful database to support environmental risk assessment activities.

Bisphenol A Induces Superfeminization in the Ramshorn Snail (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia) at Environmentally Relevant Concentrations

“…The concomitance of superfemales with oviduct malformations and increased mortality supports the earlier assumption of a higher female moribundity at BPA concentrations that are lower by a factor of 4,000 to 80,000 than reported LC 50 values in invertebrates (Staples et al 1998). It has been shown earlier that in female prosobranch snails exposed to tributyltin (TBT), comparable malformations with ruptures of the pallial oviduct do occur as a consequence of an oviduct blockade after the occlusion of the vaginal opening by proliferating vas deferens tissue.…”

“…With log K OW values of 2.20–3.82 (Heemken et al 2001; Staples et al 1998) and a water solubility of 300 mg/L (Staples et al 1998), a moderate adsorption to sediments and accumulation in organisms can be expected. BPA is easily degraded, with a half-life of 2.5–4 days in water (Dorn et al 1987) or 28 days in sewage treatment plants (Howard 1989).…”

The Bioconcentration and Degradation of Nonylphenol and Nonylphenol Polyethoxylates by Chlorella vulgaris

“…Internationally, NPnEOs have been used in many different industrial processes, such as laundering, textile processing (wetting and scouring), pulp and paper processing, paint and resin formulation, oil and gas recovery, steel manufacturing, pest control and power generation for over 50 years [1–3]. The wide use of products containing NPnEOs made these compounds frequently detected in the environment.…”

“…Although the toxic or inhibitory levels of NP and NPnEOs on algae were successfully identified in previous studies [1,13,36,45–48], little is known about the bioconcentration and biodegradation of NP and NPnEOs by microalgae. Among aquatic organisms, microalgae play an important role in the monitoring of aquatic pollution because they are at the bottom of the aquatic food chain, and the concentration of pollutants in algae may be transferred to organisms at higher trophic levels through the food chain.…”

National inventory of alkylphenol ethoxylate compounds in U.S. sewage sludges and chemical fate in outdoor soil mesocosms

“…One of the major concerns associated with these metabolites is their ability to mimic natural hormones and induce endocrine disruption in aquatic and terrestrial organisms (Soto et al, 1991; Jobling and Sumpter, 1993; Jobling et al, 1996; Renner, 1997). Substantial literature exists that defines elevated aquatic toxicity of these metabolites (European Commission, 2002a; Staples et al, 2009). Nonylphenol (NP), octylphenol (OP) and their ethoxylates have also been detected in human milk, thereby providing a pathway for exposure of newborns to these endocrine disruptors (Ademollo et al, 2008).…”