A toxicity identification evaluation (TIE) conducted on a municipal wastewater discharge from the southeast United States was part of a research project aimed at developing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) TIE methods for acutely toxic effluents. The effluent consistently exhibited acute toxicity to Ceriodaphnia dubia but not to fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas). Toxicity characterization procedures revealed that the primary toxicant was a nonpolar organic. Toxicity was recovered through C18 solid‐phase extraction and concentration steps. Gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy of these concentrates revealed the presence of diazinon (O, O‐diethyl O‐[6‐methyl‐2‐(1‐methylethyl)‐4‐pyrimidinyl] phosphorothioate). Diazinon concentrations in whole effluent, determined by GC analyses, correlated well with the toxicity measurements of each sample. Relative species sensitivity also implicated diazinon as the primary toxicant. This study illustrates the successful application of EPA TIE methodologies for identifying a nonpolar organic toxicant in a complex effluent. The significance of detecting diazinon at acutely toxic concentrations in municipal wastewater may indicate a more widespread problem in this region of the United States. This toxicity problem may be attributed to the chemical characteristics of diazinon and its applications.
Pesticides are applied to the rice fields in the Sacramento Valley to prevent the growth of plants, algae and insects that reduce rice yields. Following the pesticide application, field water is released into agricultural drains that in turn discharge into the Sacramento River and delta. Rice irrigation is the largest single use of irrigation water in the Sacramento Valley, and because the irrigation water (or rice return) flows are the primary source of drain effluent during the spring and summer (up to 33% of the total flow), these discharges can significantly affect drain water quality and resident aquatic organisms. Acute and chronic toxicity to freshwater organisms (Ceriodaphnia dubia) was observed in the drain water during the period that coincides with the initial draining of the fields in 1986, 1987 and 1988. In 1988, a toxicity identification evaluation (TIE) was conducted using Ceriodaphnia dubia in an effort to identify the cause of toxicity. Both methyl parathion and carbofuran were identified as possible toxicants. Mixture tests and chronic toxicity tests indicated that the concentrations of methyl parathion and carbofuran in the water sample account for the toxicity observed in Ceriodaphnia dubia.
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