Toxicity of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid and perfluorooctanoic acid to Chironomus tentans

Two perfluorinated surfactants, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), were evaluated for their toxicity to the aquatic midge, Chironomus tentans. Impetus for this laboratory study originated from a 10-d, in situ field assessment in which C. tentans was exposed to PFOS at concentrations ranging from 300 to 30,000 mug/L. No midges survived these exposures. Midge survival in a preliminary, acute 10-d laboratory test with nominal PFOS concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 100,000 mug/L showed similar toxicity with respect to survival (median lethal concentration [LC50], 45.2 mug/L) and growth (median effective concentration [EC50], 27.4 mug/L). A parallel test using PFOA indicated no significant impacts on survival or growth. A definitive 10-d assay with PFOS concentrations ranging from 1 to 150 mug/L produced an EC50 for growth (87.2 +/- 11.6 mug/L) of the same order of magnitude as that in the preliminary findings. The same was not true for survival, however, with the LC50 falling outside the range of test concentrations. To further investigate the sensitivity of C. tentans to PFOS, we conducted a chronic life-cycle test using a nominal concentration range of 1 to 100 mug/L. Three of the four endpoints measured-survival, growth, and emergence-were significantly affected, with EC50 values of 92.2 +/-d 3.1, 93.8 +/- 2.6, and 94.5 +/- 3.2 mug/L, respectively. Reproduction was not affected by those PFOS concentrations at which females emerged. The results of the present study indicate that PFOS toxicity thresholds for C. tentans are as much as three orders of magnitude lower than those reported for other aquatic organisms but, at present, are approximately two orders of magnitude higher than those concentrations typically observed in aquatic environments.