Toxicity linear alkylbenzenesulfonates

Traina, S.J., D.C. McAvoy, and D.J. Versteeg. 1996. Association of linear alkylbenzenesulfonates with dissolved humic substances and its effects on bioavailability. Environ. Sci. Technol. 30,1300-1309. Urano, K., and M. Saito. 1984. Adsorption of surfactants on microbiologies. Chemosphere 13, 285-293. Versteeg, D.J., and S.J. Shorter. 1992. Effect of organic carbon on the uptake and toxicity of quaternary ammonium compounds to the fathead minnow, Pimephales promelas. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 11, 571-580. 

Within the USEPA s EPI Suite, descriptions of basic physical-chemical properties for 2,4-dichloroaniline (DCA CAS No. 554007), pentachlorophenol (PCP CAS No. 87865), nonylphenol (NP CAS No. 104405), and linear alkylbenzenesulfonate (C12 LAS CAS No. 25155300) were obtained using the EPI Suite (Table 3.1), whereas acute and chronic toxicity estimates for the median effective and chronic effect concentrations (the geometric mean between chronic lowest-observed-effect concentration [LOEC] and no-observed-effect concentration [NOEC]) and for fish, daphnids, and algae for each substance were estimated from ECOSAR (Table 3.2). These compounds were chosen based on their widespread use. 

Toshima, S., Moriya, T. Yoshimura, K. 1992. Effects of polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monooleate on the acute toxicity of linear alkylbenzenesulfonate (C12-LAS) to fish. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Safety 24 26-36... 

The toxicity of surfactants to marine organisms and their concentration in them depends upon their tendency to adsorb onto them and their ability to penetrate their cell membranes (Rosen, 1999). The parameter AG0ad/a, where AG°a(j is the standard free energy of adsorption of the surfactant at the aqueous solution-air interface (Chapter 2, Section IIIF) and am is the minimum cross-sectional area of the surfactant at that interface (Chapter 2, Section IIIB), was found to correlate well for several anionic and nonionic surfactants with rotifer toxicity. The same parameter was found to correlate well for a series of cationic surfactants with rotifer and green algae toxicity and, for a series of linear alkylbenzenesulfonates, with bioconcentration in fish (Rosen, 2001). 

The degree of bioavailability of organic compounds depends critically on their chemical structure which determines the kinds of interaction that may take place within the solid phase. For example, linear alkylbenzenesulfonates are readily desorbed from sediments, so that their biodegradability and potential toxicity is largely unaffected by the presence of sediments (Hand and Williams 1987). On the other hand, benzo[a]pyrene even though accessible to chemical extraction appears to be available to biota only to a limited extent (Varanasi et al. 1985). This is consistent with the view noted earlier that chemical extractability is not a useful measure of bioavailability for naturally aged samples as opposed to those which have been spiked with the contaminant (Kelsey et al. 1997). 

Fig. 4. Detergency, biodegradability and fish toxicity of linear alkylbenzenesulfonates (LAS)...

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