Environmental Toxicology
…and exploring ATSDR toxicological profiles
MSC-210 – Marine Environmental Sampling & Analysis Lecture 8
Toxicology Definitions
▪ Environmental Toxicology:
▪ The study of the fate and effects of contaminants in the
environment
▪ Environmental Health Toxicology:
▪ The study of the adverse effects of environmental
contaminants on human health
▪ Ecotoxicology:
▪ The study of the adverse effects of environmental
contaminants on ecosystems and constituents
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Environmental Health Toxicology vs Ecotoxicology
Environmental Health Toxicology Ecotoxicology
Protects populations and communities of
Protects humans
different species
Humans separated from environment; rarely Inclusive of species and the non-living
includes non-living environment environment
Primarily relies on animal studies to infer Experimentation generally conducted on the
hazards for humans actual species of concern
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Environmental Contaminants
Persistent
Bioaccumulate
Toxic
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Why won’t you go away?
▪ Environmental Persistence:
▪ Defined as how long a chemical will be in a
given form
▪ Determined by degradation processes
▪ Described in terms of half-lives
The half-life, t1/2, is the amount of time
needed for a chemical’s concentration to
decrease by half compared to its initial
Half-life concentration. Its application is used in
chemistry and medicine to predict the
concentration of a substance over time.
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Environmental Persistence
Contaminant Half-life (days) Media
DDT 3,650 Soil
TCDD 3,285 Soil
Atrazine 750 Water
Benzoperylene 420 Soil
Phenanthrene 138 Soil
Carbofuran 45 Water
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Why won’t you go away?
▪ Bioaccumulation:
▪ Process by which organisms accumulate
chemicals
▪ Can occur directly or indirectly
▪ Primary sites of uptake:
▪ Lungs
▪ Gills
▪ GI tract
▪ Skin
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Bioaccumulation in the Aquatic Environment
▪ Major site for chemical transition from abiotic environment to biota
▪ Aquatic environment serves as a:
▪ Transport medium
▪ Contaminant sink
▪ Habitat for organisms with gills
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Bioaccumulation Factors (BAFs)
▪ The ratio of the chemical concentration inside an organism to the
water concentration at equilibrium
Chemical BAFs
BAF = Corganism DDT 127 000
Cwater TCDD 39 000
Endrin 6 800
Pentachlorobenzene 5 000
Leptophos 750
Trichlorobenzene 183
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Trophic Transfer:
Biomagnification (Bioconcentration)
▪ DDT
25 ppm in
predatory
2 ppm in birds
large fish
0.5 ppm in
small fishes
0.04 ppm in
zooplankton
0.000003
ppm in
water
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Delayed Toxicity
▪ Bioaccumulating toxicants are lipophilic
▪ May be stored in fat deposits & mobilized at a later time when it will elicit
effects
Food Shortage or Preparations for Transference to
Hibernation Reproduction Offspring
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Factors Affecting Bioaccumulation
▪ Chemical persistence
▪ Chemical lipophilicity
▪ Organism’s metabolism
▪ Organism’s elimination capabilities
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Toxicity
Classification & Registration
▪ Acute Toxicity:
▪ Immediate toxicity elicited in response to
short-term exposure
▪ Typically associated to an accidental release or
improper usage
Acute vs Chronic ▪ Commonly quantified as:
Toxicity ▪ LD50
And related quantifications ▪ LC50
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▪ Chronic Toxicity:
▪ Toxicity elicited following long-term exposure
▪ Commonly assessed using sub-lethal endpoints
▪ Also could be cumulative lethality
▪ Commonly quantified as:
Acute vs Chronic ▪ NOAEL
Toxicity ▪ LOAEL
And related quantifications ▪ Chronic Value
▪ Acute to Chronic Ratio (ACR)
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Globally Harmonized System for the
Classification & Labeling of Chemicals and Hazards
Let’s explore how toxicity is discussed by the ATSDR
• By Congressional mandate, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry (ATSDR) produces "toxicological profiles" for hazardous substances
found at National Priorities List (NPL) sites.
• These hazardous substances are ranked based on:
• Frequency of occurrence at NPL sites
• Toxicity
• Potential for human exposure
• Toxicological profiles are developed from a priority list of 275 substances.
• ATSDR also prepares toxicological profiles for the Department of Defense
(DOD) and the Department of Energy (DOE) on substances related to federal
sites.
Let’s explore how toxicity is discussed by the ATSDR
Toxicological profiles are developed in two stages:
(1) DRAFTS:
o The toxicological profiles are first produced as drafts.
o ATSDR announces in the Federal Register (FR) the release of these draft
profiles for a 90 day public comment period.
(2) FINALS:
o After the 90 day comment period, ATSDR considers incorporating all
comments into the documents.
o ATSDR finalizes the profiles.
ATSDR Website
References
Lecture Content Images
▪ Graham, S., Hofelt, C., and LeBlanc, C. ▪ Slide 2: Toxicology
(2013). NCSU lecture “Environmental https://www.gravitywerks.com
Toxicology”. Nov 19, 2013. North Carolina
▪ Slides 5 & 7: Fish Cartoons
State University.
https://www.michigan.gov
▪ U.S. EPA. (2000). Bioaccumulation Testing
▪ Slide 8: Gills
and Interpretation for the Purpose of
https://www.britannica.com
Sediment Quality Assessment – Status &
Needs. U.S. Environmental Protection ▪ Slide 16: GHS
Agency, Office of Water (4305) and Office https://www.osha.gov
of Solid Waste (5307W). EPA Document
823-R-00-001. February 2000.
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