Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality Criteria: Nonylphenol, Final

摘要

Section 304(a)(l) of the Clean Water Act of 1977 (P.L. 95-217) requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to publish water quality criteria that accurately reflect the latest scientific knowledge on the kind and extent of all identifiable effects on health and welfare that might be expected from the presence of pollutants in any body of water, including ground water. This document is a revision of proposed criteria based upon consideration of comments received from independent peer reviewers and the public. Criteria contained in this document replace any previously published EPA aquatic life criteria for the same pollutant(s). Nonylphenol (C(sub 15)H(sub 24)O) is produced from cyclic intermediates in the refinement of petroleum and coal-tar crudes. It is manufactured by alkylating phenol with mixed isomeric nonenes in the presence of an acid catalyst. The resulting product is a mixture of various isomers of nonylphenol, predominantly para-substituted nonylphenol, (phenol, 4-nonyl-branched, CAS No. 84852-15-3; 4-nonylphenol, CAS No. 104-40-5; and phenol, nonyl-, CAS No. 25154-52-3) with small amounts of ortho-substituted phenol (2-nonylphenol, CAS No. 136-83-4), and trace amounts of 2,4-dinonylphenol (phenol, dinonyl, branched, CAS No. 84962-08-3). Additional isomers, which represent the numerous branched structures that occur within the nonyl (nine carbon) group, add to the complexity of the compound. Commercial nonylphenol is most accurately described by CAS number 84852-15-3 (phenol, 4-nonyl-branched), but CAS numbers 104-40-5 (phenol, 4-nonyl-) and 25154-52-3 (phenol, nonyl) have also been used to describe these compounds commercially. The criteria derived in this document address the CAS numbers 84852-15-3 and 25154-52-3.