Comparative and Mixture Sediment Toxicity of Trinitrotoluene and Its Major Transformation Products to a Freshwater Midge

The explosive trinitrotoluene (TNT) is a prevalent contaminant in many military installations worldwide. Limited knowledge of the comparative toxicity of sediment-associated TNT and related compounds contributes to uncertainty when assessing ecological risks in contaminated sites. Trinitrotoluene undergoes transformation when associated with soils and sediments and typically occurs as a mixture dominated by its reduction products. The objective of this study was to comparatively evaluate the single-compound toxicity of TNT and its major transformation products to the freshwater midge Chironomus tentans in 10-day exposures to sediment spiked with TNT, 2-aminodinitrotoluene (2-ADNT), 2,4-diaminonitrotoluene (2,4-DANT), or trinitrobenzene (TNB). In addition, the nature of the toxicological interactions of the latter compounds in a mixture was evaluated. Upon spiking to sediment, TNT and TNB rapidly degraded to reduced products, and disappearance of extractable compounds suggested irreversible binding to sediment particles. The high degree of transformation and reactivity occurring during 10 days at spiking concentrations as high as 4000 micromol/kg dry weight suggests that TNT and related compounds are unlikely to be encountered in fine-grained sediments at contaminated sites. Similar to previous investigations, the high reactivity of the spiked compound hampered determination of accurate toxic concentrations of TNT and related compounds, and of the nature of toxicological interaction of compounds in a mixture in this study. Sediment concentrations associated with decreased survival were similar for all four compounds, with the 10-d median lethal concentrations (LC50s) determined using initial concentrations ranging from 175 (2-ADNT) to 605 (2,4-DANT) micromol/kg dry weight. Sublethal decrease in growth was not observed for any compound. Results from the mixture experiment suggest additive interaction among TNT and related compounds in sediment exposures.