EURO-ECOLE: Assessment of the Bioavailability and Potential Ecological Effects of Copper in European Surface Waters ; subproject 4: Evaluation and improvement of the ecological relevance of laboratory generated toxicity data

This report summarizes the acute and chronic toxicity of copper to algae, Daphnia and a few other freshwater species in standard laboratory test water and a wide range of natural surface waters (collected across Europe), with a wide range of pH, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and hardness. These data can be used for validation of bioavailability models such as the biotic ligand model (BLM)

Comparison of the effect of different pH buffering techniques on the toxicity of copper and zinc to Daphnia magna and Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata

During the time-course of ecotoxicity tests with algae and chronic (reproductive) toxicity tests with daphnids, in which algae are present as a food source, pH can dramatically increase due to photosynthetic activity. As pH changes can significantly affect metal speciation and thus its bioavailability, it may be necessary to buffer the pH of the exposure medium. One class of buffers (Good's N-subtituted aminosulfonic acids) are increasingly being used in biological and chemical applications, including ecotoxicity testing. However, the potential effect of these buffers on metal toxicity has, so far, scarcely been examined. In this study we investigated if MOPS (3-N morpholino propane sulfonic acid) affected the toxicity of copper and zinc to two standard test organisms: the cladoceran Daphnia magna and the green alga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitaia. First, we demonstrate that up to a concentration of 750 mg l(-1) (which proved to be sufficient for pH buffering) MOPS did not affect 21-day net reproduction of D. magna or the 72-h population growth of P. subcapitata. Second, we conducted bioassays in copper and zinc spiked standard media for the pH range 6 - 8. For D. magna the possible effect of 750 mg l(-1) MOPS on acute copper and zinc toxicity was investigated by performing parallel 48-h toxicity tests in NaHCO3 and MOPS buffered test media. Seventy-two hour growth inhibition assays with P. subcapitata were performed in parallel in MOPS and NaHCO3 buffered test media and in test media with daily manual pH adjustment with HCl. For daphnids no significant differences in copper and zinc toxicity were observed between MOPS or NaHCO3 buffered test media. For algae no significant differences in metal toxicity were observed between MOPS and HCl buffered media, but in test media buffered with NaHCO3 an increased copper and zinc toxicity was observed as a consequence of pH increases during the test. Clearly, the results of this study demonstrate the importance of pH buffering in metal toxicity testing and the suitability of the MOPS buffer for that purpose

Acute and Chronic Toxicity of Cobalt to Freshwater Organisms: Using a Species Sensitivity Distribution Approach to Establish International Water Quality Standards

Water quality standards for cobalt (Co) have not been developed for the European Union or United States. The objective of the present study was to produce freshwater Co toxicity data that could be used by both the European Union and the United States to develop appropriate regulatory standards (i.e., environmental quality standards or predicted-no-effect concentrations in Europe and ambient water quality criteria or state water quality standards in the United States). Eleven species, including algae, an aquatic plant, and several invertebrate and fish species, were used in the performance of acute and chronic Co toxicity tests. Acute median lethal or median effective concentration (LC50 or EC50) values ranged from 90.1 mu g Co/L for duckweed (Lemna minor) to 157 000 mu g Co/L for midges (Chironomus tentans). Chronic 10% effect concentration (EC10) values ranged from 4.9 mu g Co/L for duckweed to 2170 mu g Co/L for rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Chronic 20% effect concentration (EC20) values ranged from 11.1 mu g Co/L for water flea (Ceriodaphnia dubia) to 2495 mu g Co/L for O. mykiss. Results indicated that invertebrate and algae/plant species are more sensitive to chronic Co exposures than fish. Acute-to-chronic ratios (derived as acute LC50s divided by chronic EC20s) were lowest for juvenile O. mykiss (0.6) and highest for the snail Lymnaea stagnalis (2670). Following the European-based approach and using EC10 values, species sensitivity distributions (SSDs) were developed and a median hazardous concentration for 5% of the organisms of 1.80 mu g Co/L was derived. Chronic EC20 values were used, also in an SSD approach, to derive a US Environmental Protection Agency-style final chronic value of 7.13 mu g Co/L

Validation of the nickel biotic ligand model for locally relevant species in Australian freshwaters

Australian freshwaters have relatively low water hardness and different calcium (Ca) to magnesium (Mg) ratios compared with those in Europe. The hardness values of a substantial proportion of Australian freshwaters fall below the application boundary of the existing European nickel biotic ligand models (Ni BLMs) of 2 mg Ca/L. Toxicity testing was undertaken using Hydra viridissima to assess the predictive ability of the existing Ni BLM for this species in extremely soft waters. This testing revealed an increased competitive effect of Ca and Mg with Ni for binding to the biotic ligand in soft water

Metal mixture modeling evaluation project: 2. Comparison of four modeling approaches

As part of the Metal Mixture Modeling Evaluation (MMME) project, models were developed by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (Japan), the US Geological Survey (USA), HDR|HydroQual (USA), and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (United Kingdom) to address the effects of metal mixtures on biological responses of aquatic organisms. A comparison of the 4 models, as they were presented at the MMME workshop in Brussels, Belgium (May 2012), is provided in the present study. Overall, the models were found to be similar in structure (free ion activities computed by the Windermere humic aqueous model [WHAM]; specific or nonspecific binding of metals/cations in or on the organism; specification of metal potency factors or toxicity response functions to relate metal accumulation to biological response). Major differences in modeling approaches are attributed to various modeling assumptions (e.g., single vs multiple types of binding sites on the organism) and specific calibration strategies that affected the selection of model parameters. The models provided a reasonable description of additive (or nearly additive) toxicity for a number of individual toxicity test results. Less-than-additive toxicity was more difficult to describe with the available models. Because of limitations in the available datasets and the strong interrelationships among the model parameters (binding constants, potency factors, toxicity response parameters), further evaluation of specific model assumptions and calibration strategies is needed

Revisions to the derivation of the Australian and New Zealand guidelines for toxicants in fresh and marine waters

The Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality are a key document in the Australian National Water Quality Management Strategy. These guidelines released in 2000 are currently being reviewed and updated. The revision is being co-ordinated by the Australian Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, while technical matters are dealt with by a series of Working Groups. The revision will be evolutionary in nature reflecting the latest scientific developments and a range of stakeholder desires. Key changes will be: increasing the types and sources of data that can be used; working collaboratively with industry to permit the use of commercial-in-confidence data; increasing the minimum data requirements; including a measure of the uncertainty of the trigger value; improving the software used to calculate trigger values; increasing the rigour of site-specific trigger values; improving the method for assessing the reliability of the trigger values; and providing guidance of measures of toxicity and toxicological endpoints that may, in the near future, be appropriate for trigger value derivation. These changes will markedly improve the number and quality of the trigger values that can be derived and will increase end-users’ ability to understand and implement the guidelines in a scientifically rigorous manner