Toxicity limits are appearing more frequently in permits for produced water discharges. A bioluminescent bacteria bioassay has been proposed as a screening tool to predict toxicity in higher organisms, which are more expensive and require longer testing times. Before such a surrogate screen can be used, a correlation must be demonstrated between toxicity in the surrogate and the species of interest. This paper describes tests comparing produced water toxicity in the biolumnescent bacteria test and in the mysid shrimp chronic estimator test, which is frequently required in Gulf of Mexico discharge permits. Under these test conditions, the bacteria test was not adequately predictive of produced water chronic toxicity to the mysid shrimp. Introduction In 1993, Chevron offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico began chronic toxicity testing under the NPDES General Permit for the Western Portion of the Outer Continental Shelf of the Gulf of Mexico. The permit requires short-term chronic estimator tests with the mysid shrimp and sheep shead minnow. These tests are each seven days long, and approximate costs can range from $1600-$3000 per produced water sample. Before the permit went into effect, toxicity data were needed to evaluate the extent of potential compliance problems and allow focus of toxicity reduction efforts. However, pre-permit testing with both species for each platform was considered prohibitively expensive. A less expensive toxicity screening method was sought to indicate which platforms might show toxicity in the permit-required tests. The bioluminescent bacteria bioassay has been proposed as a screening method for acute toxicity to higher organisms. The bacteria test is shorter, less expensive, and easier to perform than standard acute bioassays. Good correlations between the surrogate and various fish and invertebrate species have been reported in acute and chronic tests for specific chemicals and complex effluents. P. 351
Toxicity limits are appearing more frequently in permits for produced water discharges.
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