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An aquatic toxicological evaluation of sulfate: The case for considering hardness as a modifying factor in setting water quality guidelines
Author(s) -
Elphick James R.,
Davies Martin,
Gilron Guy,
Canaria Edmund C.,
Lo Bonnie,
Bailey Howard C.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
environmental toxicology and chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1552-8618
pISSN - 0730-7268
DOI - 10.1002/etc.363
Subject(s) - sulfate , water quality , invertebrate , environmental chemistry , environmental science , toxicity , hard water , fish <actinopterygii> , toxicology , chemistry , ecology , fishery , biology , organic chemistry
Elevated concentrations of sulfate occur commonly in anthropogenically impacted and natural waters. However, water quality guidelines (WQG) have not been developed in many jurisdictions, and chronic toxicity data are scarce for this anion. A variety of test organisms, including species of invertebrate, fish, algae, moss, and an amphibian, were tested for chronic toxicity to develop a robust dataset that could be used to develop WQGs. As an example of how these data might be used to establish guidelines, calculations were performed using two standard procedures: a species sensitivity distribution (SSD) approach, following methods employed in developing Canadian WQGs, and a safety factor approach, according to procedures typically used in the development of provincial WQGs in British Columbia. The interaction of sulfate toxicity and water hardness was evaluated and incorporated into the calculations, resulting in separate values for soft (10–40 mg/L), moderately hard (80–100 mg/L) and hard water (160–250 mg/L). The resulting values were 129, 644, and 725 mg/L sulfate, respectively, following the SSD approach, and 75, 625, and 675 mg/L sulfate, following the safety factor approach. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2011;30:247–253. © 2010 SETAC