Development of Toxicity Benchmarks for Nitrogen-based Energetic Materials for the Enchytraeid Worm, Enchytraeus crypticus

Abstract

We investigated individual toxicities of nitrogen-based energetic materials (EMs) 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT), 2-amino-3,6-dinitrotoluene (2-ADNT), 4-amino-2,6-dinitrotoluene (4-ADNT), nitroglycerin (NG), and octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX) to the potworm Enchytraeus crypticus using the Enchytraeid Reproduction Test (ISO 16387:2004). Studies were designed to generate ecotoxicological benchmarks for developing the ecological soil screening levels (Eco-SSLs) for risk assessments of contaminated soils, and to identify and characterize the predominant soil physicochemical parameters that affect the toxicity of 2,4-DNT to E. crypticus. Soils with a wide range of physicochemical parameters included: Teller sandy loam, Sassafras sandy loam, Kirkland loam, and Webster clay loam. Reproduction EC50 values (mg kg 1) for EMs weathered-and-aged (W-A) in sandy loam soils were 27 (2,4-DNT), 37 (4-ADNT), 103 (2-ADNT), 146 (NG), and >10,208 (HMX). Reproduction toxicity of 2,4-DNT W-A in soil, based on EC50 values, correlated strongly with soil organic matter and clay contents. Toxicity benchmarks established in TSL and SSL have been submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Eco-SSL Workgroup for use in developing soil invertebrate-based Eco-SSLs for 2,4-DNT, 2-ADNT, 4-ADNT, and NG.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 2013
Accession Number
ADA588422

Entities

People

  • Carlton T. Phillips
  • Geoffrey I. Sunahara
  • Jalal Hawari
  • Louise Paquet
  • Michael Simini
  • Roman G Kuperman
  • Ronald T. Checkai
  • Sylvie Rocheleau

Organizations

  • Edgewood Chemical Biological Center

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Chemical Synthesis
  • Chemistry
  • Data Science
  • Databases
  • Ecotoxicology
  • Energetic Materials
  • Environment
  • Environmental Protection
  • Explosives
  • Information Science
  • Liquid Chromatography
  • Materials
  • Materials Testing
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Phyllosilicates
  • Test Methods
  • Toxicity

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Agricultural Chemistry/Soil Science