Toxic effects of aliphatic chlorinated by-products from vinyl chloride production on marine animals

The acute toxic effects of chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons, formed as by-products from one Swedish and one Norwegian plastic production factory, were examined by experiments with cod ( Gadus morhua), shrimp ( Crangon crangon) and a polychaete ( Ophyryotrocha labronica). The toxicity of 1,2-dichloroethane—a dominating compound of the by-products—and a distillate with heavier compounds were also estimated. The toxicity (48 h, LC50) ratio between the concentrations of a Swedish by-product, a Norwegian by-product, and dichloroethane was 1:9:34. The effects of 1,2-dichloroethane, 1,1,2-trichloroethane and 1,1,2-trichloroethene on the reproductivity, and on the survival of adults of Ophryotrocha were studied. The reproductivity was affected by these components in far lower concentrations than those having acute toxic effects on adult specimens. In one experiment series Ophryotrocha was exposed suddenly to the test solutions and in a second series the first presentation was made by a successive increase of the concentration during one hour. The estimated 96-h LC50-values for the test with successive increase were 1·8–3·1 times higher than those found for the test with sudden exposure. It is suggested that a physiological shock in the start of bioassay experiments might have reduced the LC50-values in many previous tests.