Development of biotic ligand model–based freshwater aquatic life criteria for lead following US Environmental Protection Agency guidelines

Abstract

The US Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA's) current ambient water quality criteria (AWQC) for lead (Pb) in freshwater were developed in 1984. The criteria are adjusted for hardness, but more recent studies have demonstrated that other parameters, especially dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and pH, have a much stronger influence on Pb bioavailability. These recent studies have been used to support development of a biotic ligand model (BLM) for Pb in freshwater, such that acute and chronic Pb toxicity can be predicted over a wide range of water chemistry conditions. Following USEPA guidelines for AWQC development and using a methodology consistent with that used by the USEPA in developing its recommended BLM-based criteria for copper in 2007, we propose acute and chronic BLM-based AWQC for Pb in freshwater. In addition to the application of the BLM approach that can better account for site-specific Pb bioavailability, the toxicity data sets presented are much more robust than in 1984, and there are now sufficient chronic Pb toxicity data available that use of an acute-to-chronic ratio is no longer necessary. Over a range of North American surface waters with representative water chemistry conditions, proposed acute BLM-based Pb criteria ranged from approximately 20 to 1000 μg/L and chronic BLM-based Pb criteria ranged from approximately 0.3 to 40 μg/L. The lowest criteria were for water with low DOC (1.2 mg/L), pH (6.7), and hardness (4.3 mg/L as CaCO3), whereas the highest criteria were for water with high DOC (9.8 mg/L), pH (8.2), and hardness (288 mg/L as CaCO ). Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:2965-2973. © 2017 SETAC.

Chronic Exposure to Low Concentration Lead Chloride-Induced Anxiety and Loss of Aggression and Memory in Zebrafish

“…In general, this study determined the potential ecotoxicity of long-term lead exposure in adult zebrafish through multiple behavioral assessments. The significant findings were that even at a low concentration, long-term exposure to lead could impair the memory and cause a decrease in the aggressiveness and exploratory activities of zebrafish, which may reduce their survival fitness.(EC10/NOEC-usually more than 14 days) on fish range from 18 to 1559 µg/L and 44 to 437 µg/L, respectively [3,4].More evidence has shown the detrimental impacts of lead on human health, especially at a neurobehavioral level. The neurotoxicity of chronic exposure to low concentrations of lead can impair cognitive performance in childhood through to adulthood [5][6][7][8][9].…”

“…(EC10/NOEC-usually more than 14 days) on fish range from 18 to 1559 µg/L and 44 to 437 µg/L, respectively [3,4].…”

Application and Validation of a Biotic Ligand Model for Calculating Acute Toxicity of Lead to Moina Dubia in Lakes of Hanoi, Vietnam

“…The BLMs had been developed for Cu (De Schamphelaere and Janssen 2002), Ni (Deleebeeck et al, 2008(Deleebeeck et al, , 2009 and Cd (Clifford and McGeerand 2010). Lead is one of the metals studied by USEPA in the BLM development center (DeForest et al 2017). The BLM has been evolving for a long time but mostly on endemic species in Europe and America such as Baetis tricaudatus (may y), Ceriodaphnia dubia (cladoceran) (Nys et al 2014), Daphnia magna (DeForest et al 2017), and Pimephales promelas (Mageret al 2011).…”

Chronic effects of lead exposure on topsmelt fish (Atherinops affinis): Influence of salinity, organism age, and relative sensitivity to other marine species

“…Increased environmental salinity yields fewer interactions between Pb and biotic ligands at the gills due to a cation competition. This competition potentially makes Pb less bioavailable to aquatic organisms and, therefore, decreases toxicity (Church et al ; DeForest et al ). However, based on a review summary by Church et al (), approximately 72% of the chronic Pb toxicity data were for vertebrate and invertebrate species and at salinity ≥30 ppt.…”