Water Quality Criteria for 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (TNT)
Abstract
The persistence of TNT in the environment when dissolved in surface water is very limited; biological degradation occurs slowly, while photolytic degradation occurs faster with half-lives for TNT exposed to natural sunlight of 3 to 22 hrs. As a solid or dissolved in groundwater, TNT can remain undecomposed for long periods of time. Studies of the acute toxicity of TNT to aquatic organisms indicate that LC(50). Values range from 5.2 to 27.0 mg/L for invertebrates in 48-hr static tests, and from 2.0 to 3.7 mg/L for fish in 96-hr flow-through tests. Chronic studies of early life stages of fish in flow-through conditions indicated egg hatching and fry survival were decreased at levels of 0.84 to 1.35 mg/L in three species exposed for 30 days. In 60-day studies of trout eggs and fry, levels of 0.24 to 1.69 mg/L reduced fry survival. A several- generations study of fathead minnows, conducted under flow-through conditions at levels of 0.04 to 1.21 mg/L TNT, indicated significant effects and affected the later generations more severely than the parent generation. Estimates of bioconcentration factors for TNT were not very reliable, but general consensus was that TNT does not highly bioconcentrate. Keywords: Aquatic toxicity, Environmental effects, Environmental fate health effects, Mammalian toxicity, Munition products, Trinitrotolulene, TNT, Water quality criteria.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1987
- Accession Number
- ADA188951
Entities
People
- Michael G. Ryon