Ecological Effects Test Guidelines OPPTS 850.1850 Aquatic Food Chain Transfer

United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Prevention, Pesticides
and Toxic Substances
(7101)
EPA 712-C-96-133
April 1996
&EPA Ecological Effects Test
Guidelines
OPPTS 850.1850
Aquatic Food Chain
Transfer
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Public Draft"

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Introduction
This guideline is one of a series of test guidelines that have been
developed by the Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances,
United States Environmental Protection Agency for use in the testing of
pesticides and toxic substances, and the development of test data that must
be submitted to the Agency for review under Federal regulations.
The Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances (OPPTS)
has developed this guideline through a process of harmonization that
blended the testing guidance and requirements that existed in the Office
of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) and appeared in Title 40,
Chapter I, Subchapter R of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), the
Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) which appeared in publications of the
National Technical Information Service (NTIS) and the guidelines pub-
lished by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD).
The purpose of harmonizing these guidelines into a single set of
OPPTS guidelines is to minimize variations among the testing procedures
that must be performed to meet the data requirements of the U. S. Environ-
mental Protection Agency under the Toxic Substances Control Act (15
U.S.C. 2601) and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act
(7 U.S.C. 136, etseq.).
Public Draft Access Information: This draft guideline is part of a
series of related harmonized guidelines that need to be considered as a
unit. For copies: These guidelines are available electronically from the
EPA Public Access Gopher (gopher.epa.gov) under the heading "Environ-
mental Test Methods and Guidelines" or in paper by contacting the OPP
Public Docket at (703) 305-5805 or by e-mail:
guidelines@epamail.epa.gov.
To Submit Comments: Interested persons are invited to submit com-
ments. By mail: Public Docket and Freedom of Information Section, Office
of Pesticide Programs, Field Operations Division (7506C), Environmental
Protection Agency, 401 M St. SW., Washington, DC 20460. In person:
bring to: Rm. 1132, Crystal Mall #2, 1921 Jefferson Davis Highway, Ar-
lington, VA. Comments may also be submitted electronically by sending
electronic mail (e-mail) to: guidelines@epamail.epa.gov.
Final Guideline Release: This guideline is available from the U.S.
Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402 on The Federal Bul-
letin Board. By modem dial 202-512-1387, telnet and ftp:
fedbbs.access.gpo.gov (IP 162.140.64.19), or call 202-512-0135 for disks
or paper copies. This guideline is also available electronically in ASCII
and PDF (portable document format) from the EPA Public Access Gopher
(gopher.epa.gov) under the heading "Environmental Test Methods and
Guidelines."
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OPPTS 850.1850 Aquatic Food Chain Transfer
(a)	Scope—(1) Applicability. This guideline is intended to meet test-
ing requirements of both the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) (7 U.S.C. 136, et seq.) and the Toxic Substances
Control Act (TSCA) (15 U.S.C. 2601).
(2) Background. The source material used in developing this har-
monized OPPTS test guideline is OPP 72-6 Aquatic Organism Accumula-
tion Tests (Pesticide Assessment Guidelines, Subdivision E—Hazard Eval-
uation: Wildlife and Aquatic Organisms) EPA report 540/09-82-025
(1982).
(b)	Test standards. Data sufficient to satisfy the requirements in 40
CFR 158.145 should be derived from tests which comply with the follow-
ing test standards:
(1)	Test substance. Data should be derived from testing conducted
with the technical grade of each active ingredient in the product (studies
using radioisotopes require analytical grade) or the purest available form
of the principal degradatioc products, whichever has a water solubility of
less than 0.5 mg/L, an octanol/water partition coefficient greater than
1,000, and is persistent in water (i.e., a half-life greater than 4 days).
(2)	Test organisms, (i) Consultation with the Agency is advised be-
fore selection of species is made. One or more of the following species
may be used in accumulation testing:
(A)	A typical bottom-feeding fish (e.g., catfish or carp).
(B)	A cold-water fish, a warm-water fish, or marine fish (e.g. brrok
trout, rainbow trout, bass, bluegill, northern pike, walleye, or sheepshead
minnow).
(C)	Molluscs (e.g., oyster or freshwater clams).
(D)	Crustaceans (e.g., Daphnia spp., shrimp, or crayfish).
(E)	Insect nymphs (e.g., mayfly).
(ii) The following factors should be considered in selecting species:
(A)	The use pattern of the formulated product.
(B)	The relative sensitivity of the different species to toxic effects.
(C)	Data on route of exposure and method of uptake.
(c)	Reporting and evaluation of data. Specific data reporting and
evaluation guidance should be determined by consultation with the Agen-
cy.
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(d) References. The following references can provide usefull back-
ground information on developing protocols. The conditions under which
an accelerated aquatic organism test may be an acceptable substitute for
a full-length test should be determined by consulting with the Agency.
(1)	Johnson, B.T. and R.A. Schoettger. A biological model for esti-
mating the uptake, transfer, and degradation of xenobiotics in a food chain.
Federal Register 40(123):26906-26909. (June 25, 1975).
(2)	Macek, K.J. et al. Bioconcentration of 14C pesticides by bluegill
sunfish during continuous exposure. Pp. 119-142 in Structure-activity cor-
relations of studies of toxicity and bioconcentration with aquatic orga-
nisms. Proceedings of a symposium held at Burlington, Ontario, March
11-13, 1975. G.D. Veith and D.E. Konasewich, eds. Sponsored by the
Standing Committee on Scientific Basis for Water Quality Criteria of the
International Joint Commission's Research Advisory Board. (1975).
(3)	Schimmel, S.C. et al. Acute toxicity to and bioconcentration of
endosulfan by estuarine animals. Pp. 241-252 in Aquatic Toxicology and
Hazard Evaluation. F.L. Mayer and J.L. Hamelink, eds. STP no. 634,
American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, PA (1977).
(4)	Branson, D.R. et al. Bioconcentration of 2,2',4,4'-
tetrachlorobiophenyl in rainbow trout as measured by an accelerated test.
Transactions of the American Fish Society. 104:785-792 (1975).
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