Estimating the combined toxicity by two-step prediction model on the complicated chemical mixtures from wastewater treatment plant effluents

Environ Toxicol Chem. 2006 Aug;25(8):2107-13. doi: 10.1897/05-484r.1.

Abstract

The toxicities of chemical mixtures containing 10 compounds, detected in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents, were investigated using Daphnia magna in a two-step prediction (TSP) model. The 10 chemicals determined by gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry in WWTP effluents included three groups: Three acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, six narcosis inhibitors, and one seedling root inhibitor. In the first step, a concentration addition (CA) model was used to predict the mixture toxicities for the three component groups with similar modes of action; in the second step, an independent action (IA) model was used for the newly developed concentration-response curves from the three CA predictions. The CA predictions did not show a statistically significant difference from the observed results with respect to the three groups of chemicals, whereas the IA model did not conform to the experimental results. Therefore, the concentration-response curves obtained from the mixture toxicity tests in each group was considered as a single curve and applied in the next step of the mixture toxicity prediction. However, the observed toxicity of the 10-chemical mixture showed large differences from the results of the IA and CA model predictions, whereas the TSP model predicted the toxicity well and with statistical significance (p = 0.0501, n = 17). This suggests that the TSP model would provide a valid prediction for a randomly selected chemical mixture having various modes of action if the concentration-response function for an individual component is obtained.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Daphnia / drug effects
  • Industrial Waste*
  • Models, Theoretical*
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical / toxicity*

Substances

  • Industrial Waste
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical