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Boone KS, Di Toro DM, Davis CW, Parkerton TF, Redman A. In Silico Acute Aquatic Hazard Assessment and Prioritization Using a Grouped Target Site Model: A Case Study of Organic Substances Reported in Permian Basin Hydraulic Fracturing Operations. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY 2024. [PMID: 38415890 DOI: 10.1002/etc.5826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
Hydraulic fracturing (HF) is commonly used to enhance onshore recovery of oil and gas during production. This process involves the use of a variety of chemicals to support the physical extraction of oil and gas, maintain appropriate conditions downhole (e.g., redox conditions, pH), and limit microbial growth. The diversity of chemicals used in HF presents a significant challenge for risk assessment. The objective of the present study is to establish a transparent, reproducible procedure for estimating 5th percentile acute aquatic hazard concentrations (e.g., acute hazard concentration 5th percentiles [HC5s]) for these substances and validating against existing toxicity data. A simplified, grouped target site model (gTSM) was developed using a database (n = 1696) of diverse compounds with known mode of action (MoA) information. Statistical significance testing was employed to reduce model complexity by combining 11 discrete MoAs into three general hazard groups. The new model was trained and validated using an 80:20 allocation of the experimental database. The gTSM predicts toxicity using a combination of target site water partition coefficients and hazard group-based critical target site concentrations. Model performance was comparable to the original TSM using 40% fewer parameters. Model predictions were judged to be sufficiently reliable and the gTSM was further used to prioritize a subset of reported Permian Basin HF substances for risk evaluation. The gTSM was applied to predict hazard groups, species acute toxicity, and acute HC5s for 186 organic compounds (neutral and ionic). Toxicity predictions and acute HC5 estimates were validated against measured acute toxicity data compiled for HF substances. This case study supports the gTSM as an efficient, cost-effective computational tool for rapid aquatic hazard assessment of diverse organic chemicals. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;00:1-12. © 2024 ExxonMobil Petroleum and Chemical BV. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen S Boone
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
| | - Dominic M Di Toro
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
| | - Craig W Davis
- ExxonMobil Biomedical Sciences, Annandale, New Jersey, USA
| | | | - Aaron Redman
- ExxonMobil Biomedical Sciences, Annandale, New Jersey, USA
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2
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Stubblefield WA, Barron M, Bragin G, DeLorenzo ME, de Jourdan B, Echols B, French-McCay DP, Jackman P, Loughery JR, Parkerton TF, Renegar DA, Rodriguez-Gil JL. Improving the design and conduct of aquatic toxicity studies with oils based on 20 years of CROSERF experience. AQUATIC TOXICOLOGY (AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS) 2023; 261:106579. [PMID: 37300923 DOI: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2023.106579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2022] [Revised: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Laboratory toxicity testing is a key tool used in oil spill science, spill effects assessment, and mitigation strategy decisions to minimize environmental impacts. A major consideration in oil toxicity testing is how to replicate real-world spill conditions, oil types, weathering states, receptor organisms, and modifying environmental factors under laboratory conditions. Oils and petroleum-derived products are comprised of thousands of compounds with different physicochemical and toxicological properties, and this leads to challenges in conducting and interpreting oil toxicity studies. Experimental methods used to mix oils with aqueous test media have been shown to influence the aqueous-phase hydrocarbon composition and concentrations, hydrocarbon phase distribution (i.e., dissolved phase versus in oil droplets), and the stability of oil:water solutions which, in turn, influence the bioavailability and toxicity of the oil containing media. Studies have shown that differences in experimental methods can lead to divergent test results. Therefore, it is imperative to standardize the methods used to prepare oil:water solutions in order to improve the realism and comparability of laboratory tests. The CROSERF methodology, originally published in 2005, was developed as a standardized method to prepare oil:water solutions for testing and evaluating dispersants and dispersed oil. However, it was found equally applicable for use in testing oil-derived petroleum substances. The goals of the current effort were to: (1) build upon two decades of experience to update existing CROSERF guidance for conducting aquatic toxicity tests and (2) to improve the design of laboratory toxicity studies for use in hazard evaluation and development of quantitative effects models that can then be applied in spill assessment. Key experimental design considerations discussed include species selection (standard vs field collected), test substance (single compound vs whole oil), exposure regime (static vs flow-through) and duration, exposure metrics, toxicity endpoints, and quality assurance and control.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - M Barron
- United States Environmental Protection Agency (retired), USA
| | - G Bragin
- ExxonMobil Biomedical Sciences, Inc., USA
| | - M E DeLorenzo
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), USA
| | - B de Jourdan
- Huntsman Marine Science Centre, St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada
| | - B Echols
- Environmental Toxicology Associates LLC, USA
| | | | - P Jackman
- Environment and Climate Change Canada (retired), Canada
| | - J R Loughery
- Huntsman Marine Science Centre, St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada
| | | | | | - J L Rodriguez-Gil
- International Institute for Sustainable Development Experimental Lakes Area (IISD-ELA), Canada
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Philibert DA, Parkerton T, Marteinson S, de Jourdan B. Calibration of an acute toxicity model for the marine crustacean, Artemia franciscana, nauplii to support oil spill effect assessments. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 866:161270. [PMID: 36603630 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.161270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Revised: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 12/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Oil spill risk and impact assessments rely on time-dependent toxicity models to predict the hazard of the constituents that comprise crude oils and petroleum substances. Dissolved aromatic compounds (ACs) are recognized as a primary driver of aquatic toxicity in surface spill exposure scenarios. However, limited time-dependent toxicity data are available for different classes of ACs to calibrate such models. This study examined the acute toxicity of 14 ACs and 3 binary AC mixtures on Artemia franciscana nauplii at 25 °C. Toxicity tests for 3 ACs were also conducted at 15 °C to evaluate the role of temperature on toxicity. The ACs investigated represented parent and alkylated homocyclic and nitrogen-, sulfur- and oxygen-containing heterocyclic structures with octanol-water partition coefficients (log Kow) ranging from 3.2 to 6.6. Passive dosing was used to expose and maintain concentrations in toxicity tests which were confirmed using fluorometry, and independently validated for 6 ACs using GC-MS analysis. Mortality was assessed at 6, 24, and 48 h to characterize the time course of toxicity. No mortality was observed for the most hydrophobic AC tested, 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene, due to apparent water solubility constraints. Empirical log LC50 s for the remaining ACs were fit to a linear regression with log Kow to derive a critical target lipid body burden (CTLBB) based on the target lipid model. The calculated 48 h CTLBB of 47.1 ± 8.1 μmol/g octanol indicates that Artemia nauplii exhibited comparable sensitivity to other crustaceans. A steep concentration-response was found across all compounds as evidenced by a narrow range (1.0-3.1) in the observed LC50 /LC10 ratio. Differences in toxicokinetics were noted, and no impacts of temperature-dependence of AC toxicity were found. Toxicity data obtained for individual ACs yielded acceptable predictions of observed binary AC mixture toxicity. Results from this study advance toxicity models used in oil spill assessments.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Sarah Marteinson
- National Contaminants Advisory Group, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Ottawa, ON, Canada
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French-McCay DP, Parkerton TF, de Jourdan B. Bridging the lab to field divide: Advancing oil spill biological effects models requires revisiting aquatic toxicity testing. AQUATIC TOXICOLOGY (AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS) 2023; 256:106389. [PMID: 36702035 DOI: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2022.106389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Revised: 12/10/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Oil fate and exposure modeling addresses the complexities of oil composition, weathering, partitioning in the environment, and the distributions and behaviors of aquatic biota to estimate exposure histories, i.e., oil component concentrations and environmental conditions experienced over time. Several approaches with increasing levels of complexity (i.e., aquatic toxicity model tiers, corresponding to varying purposes and applications) have been and continue to be developed to predict adverse effects resulting from these exposures. At Tiers 1 and 2, toxicity-based screening thresholds for assumed representative oil component compositions are used to inform spill response and risk evaluations, requiring limited toxicity data, analytical oil characterizations, and computer resources. Concentration-response relationships are employed in Tier 3 to quantify effects of assumed oil component mixture compositions. Oil spill modeling capabilities presently allow predictions of spatial and temporal compositional changes during exposure, which support mixture-based modeling frameworks. Such approaches rely on summed effects of components using toxic units to enable more realistic analyses (Tier 4). This review provides guidance for toxicological studies to inform the development of, provide input to, and validate Tier 4 aquatic toxicity models for assessing oil spill effects on aquatic biota. Evaluation of organisms' exposure histories using a toxic unit model reflects the current state-of the-science and provides an improved approach for quantifying effects of oil constituents on aquatic organisms. Since the mixture compositions in toxicity tests are not representative of field exposures, modelers rely on studies using single compounds to build toxicity models accounting for the additive effects of dynamic mixture exposures that occur after spills. Single compound toxicity data are needed to quantify the influence of exposure duration and modifying environmental factors (e.g., temperature, light) on observed effects for advancing use of this framework. Well-characterized whole oil bioassay data should be used to validate and refine these models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deborah P French-McCay
- RPS Ocean Science, 55 Village Square Drive, South Kingstown, Rhode Island 02879, United States.
| | - Thomas F Parkerton
- EnviSci Consulting, LLC, 5900 Balcones Dr, Suite 100, Austin, Texas 77433, United States
| | - Benjamin de Jourdan
- Huntsman Marine Science Centre, 1 Lower Campus Rd, St. Andrews, New Brunswick E5B 2L7, Canada
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Redman AD, Parkerton TF, Letinski DJ, Sutherland CA, Butler JD, Di Toro DM. Modeling Time-Dependent Aquatic Toxicity of Hydrocarbons: Role of Organism Weight, Temperature, and Substance Hydrophobicity. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY 2022; 41:3070-3083. [PMID: 36102847 PMCID: PMC9827832 DOI: 10.1002/etc.5476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2022] [Revised: 06/20/2022] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Oil spill exposures are highly dynamic and are not comparable to laboratory exposures used in standard toxicity tests. Toxicokinetic-toxicodynamic (TKTD) models allow translation of effects observed in the laboratory to the field. To improve TKTD model calibration, new and previously published data from 148 tests were analyzed to estimate rates characterizing the time course of toxicity for 10 fish and 42 invertebrate species across 37 hydrocarbons. A key parameter in the TKTD model is the first-order rate that incorporates passive elimination, biotransformation, and damage repair processes. The results indicated that temperature (4-26 °C), organism size (0.0001-10 g), and substance log octanol-water partition coefficient (2-6) had limited influence on this parameter, which exhibited a 5th to 95th percentile range of 0.2-2.5 day-1 (median 0.7 day-1 ). A species sensitivity distribution approach is proposed to quantify the variability of this parameter across taxa, with further studies needed for aliphatic hydrocarbons and plant species. Study findings allow existing oil spill models to be refined to improve effect predictions. Environ Toxicol Chem 2022;41:3070-3083. © 2022 ExxonMobil Biomedical Science Inc. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Dominic M. Di Toro
- Civil and Environmental EngineeringUniversity of DelawareNewarkDelawareUSA
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Alnasser SM. Drug and Chemical Poisoning Patterns in Makkah Region, Saudi Arabia. Drug Res (Stuttg) 2021; 72:148-155. [PMID: 34758501 DOI: 10.1055/a-1658-3036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
This research reveals that drugs and chemicals poisoning have been reported to have severe and fetal side effects on health provided by doctors in statistics and periodical records. This work aimed to explore the interaction among drug and chemical poisoning patterns concerning risk factors, especially gender, age, exposure circumstances, and outcomes in the Makkah region. A retrospective analysis was of clinical drug and chemical poisoning cases (2014-2015). The data were retrieved from the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Ministry of Health, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabia Ministry of Health received 1216 reports of drug and chemical poisoning during 2014-2015 in Makkah. This study has found that, the most affected gender was that of males (65%). The most affected age category with drug poisoning was over 15 years old (67%), but under 5 years for chemical poisoning (60%). The majority of drug poisoning cases are unknown drugs (42%), which accidental poisoning was a minority compared with other drug causes (27%). Chemical poisoning accidents were the majority causes of the recorded cases (63%). We reported healthy recovered without complications for most patients from drug and chemical poisoning (85-95%). Antidotes were administered in only (5%) of cases, and fatalities were reported (0.5% of cases). We have shown a flagrant increase in the number of people poisoned by drugs and chemical agents during 2015. Increases poisoning cases involved both genders and all studied age categories, especially males over 15 years up to 25 (drugs) and < 5 years (chemicals). Most cases were accidental (chemicals) and reported healthy recovery for most patients.
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Arnot JA, Mackay D. The influence of chemical degradation during dietary exposures to fish on biomagnification factors and bioaccumulation factors. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE. PROCESSES & IMPACTS 2018; 20:86-97. [PMID: 29300412 DOI: 10.1039/c7em00539c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The chemical dietary absorption efficiency (ED) quantifies the amount of chemical absorbed by an organism relative to the amount of chemical an organism is exposed to following ingestion. In particular, ED can influence the extent of bioaccumulation and biomagnification for hydrophobic chemicals. A new ED model is developed to quantify chemical process rates in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). The new model is calibrated with critically evaluated measured ED values (n = 250) for 80 hydrophobic persistent chemicals. The new ED model is subsequently used to estimate chemical reaction rate constants (kR) assumed to occur in the lumen of the GIT from experimental dietary exposure tests (n = 255) for 165 chemicals. The new kR estimates are corroborated with kR estimates for the same chemicals from the same data derived previously by other methods. The roles of kR and the biotransformation rate constant (kB) on biomagnification factors (BMFs) determined under laboratory test conditions and on BMFs and bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) in the environment are examined with the new model. In this regard, differences in lab and field BMFs are highlighted. Recommendations to address uncertainty in ED and kR data are provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jon A Arnot
- ARC Arnot Research and Consulting, 36 Sproat Ave., Toronto, ON M4M 1W4, Canada.
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