Development and Evaluation of Reproductive and Developmental Toxicity Tests forAssessing the Hazards of Environmental Contaminants

摘要

A subsurface spill of WA jet fuel at Eglin Air Force Base (AFB), FL, wasremediated using nitrate application. The Frog Embryo Teratogenesis Assay-Xenopus (FETAX) was used before, during, and after remediation to detect whether toxicity had been altered. Reproductive toxicity tests were also performed using adult male and female Xenopus laevis on soil samples. FETAX endpoints were the 96-hour LC50 and 96-hour EC50 (malformation) and growth. Male endpoints were sperm number, morphology, percent motile, and sperm speed. Female endpoints were egg weight, percent normal, percent fertilized, and percent normally cleaving. Offspring from matings of treated animals were reared for 96 hour and the mortality, malformation, and growth of the embryos were assessed. The developmental toxicity of WA using FETAX was also established. Results from the Eglin AFB site suggested that WA was developmentally toxic. The direct exposure method was a superior method to aqueous extraction or supercritical fluid extraction for embryos. Relatively high levels of developmental toxicity and some reproductive toxicity were present in pre-remediation soil samples. Post-remediation data suggested that toxicity was probably reduced in both the nitrate and control cells.