The Effect of Various Factors on the Toxicity of Sodium Pentachlorophenate to Fish1

• Published in: Limnology and Oceanography
• Main Authors: CRANDALL, CATHERINE ANN, GOODNIGHT, CLARENCE J.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1959
• Subjects: Aquatic Science; Oceanography; Minnows; The Minnows
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.4319/lo.1959.4.1.0053; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.4319%2Flo.1959.4.1.0053; https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.4319/lo.1959.4.1.0053

The effects of various factors on the toxicity of sodium pentachlorophenate to the fathead minnow ( Pimephales promelas ) were studied. As a base for comparison of the effects of various factors, the TL m for 24 hours was first investigated. It was found that 0.4 ppm killed all the fish, while they all lived at 0.20 ppm. The range between these two extremes was so slight that it was difficult to determine an exact 24‐hour TL m it was found to lie between 0.32 and 0.35 ppm. One ppm concentration of sodium pentachlorophenate was used for investigating the effect of pH on the toxicant at 18° C. It was found that the lower the pH of the test solution, the more toxic the material became. The mean survival time for 50% of the experimental animals at a pH of 5.9–6.0 was 28 ± 1.7 minutes; at 7.5–7.6, it was 80.7 ± 2.3 minutes; and at 8.9–9.0, the fish lived for 24 hours. Temperature effects were investigated using a solution of one ppm of sodium pentachlorophenate at pH 7.5–7.6. It was found that the higher the temperature, the more toxic the sodium pentachlorophenate is to fish. The mean survival time of 50% of the minnows at 10° C was 260.4 ± 10.2 minutes; at 18° it was 80.7 ± 2.3 minutes; and at 26° it was 46 ± 2.1 minutes.