Precision of the EPA Seven-Day Fathead Minnow Larval Survival and Growth Test Intra- and Interlaboratory Study

摘要

This study evaluated the intra- and interlaboratory variability of this seven-day test using two reference toxicants (sodium pentachlorophenate and potassium dichromate), two treated refinery effluents, and one untreated internal utility waste stream. Ten different laboratories, representing academia, private industry, contractors, State EPA and U.S. EPA participated in the study. The reference toxicants were tested twice during two separate test periods and each industrial effluent was tested once during a single period. Weight NOEC values were generally similar to those for survival, but had substantially greater variability than survival NOEC values. Increasing the number of replicate test chambers from two to three increased the test sensitivity and decreased the variability in NOEC values.