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IN THE MATTER OF :
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO:
35 III . Adm. Code 302 .102(b)(6), 302
.102(b)(8)
302
.102(b)(10), 302 .208(g), 309 .103(c)(3),
405 .109(b)(2)(A), 405 .109(b)(2)(B), 406 .100(d);
REPEALED 35 Ill . Adm
. Code 406.203, PART 407 ; and
PROPOSED NEW 35 Ill . Adm. Code 302.208(h)
BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
Dorothy Gunn, Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
100 West Randolph Street
Suite 11-500
Chicago, Illinois 60601
Mathew Dunn
Illinois Attorney General's Office
Environmental Control Division
James R. Thompson Center
100 West Randolph Street
Chicago, Illinois 60601
ALSO SEE ATTACHED SERVICE LIST
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that I have today filed with the Office of the Clerk of the Pollution Control
Board the
Illinois Environmental Protection A2encv's Additional Information and Documents,
a copy of which is herewith served upon you
.
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
By:
i~
Sanjay K
. Sofat, Assistant Counsel
Division of Legal Counsel
NOTICE OF FILING
RECEIVED
CLERK'S OFFICE
APR 0 9 2001
R07-09
(Rulemaking - Water)
Marie E. Tipsord
Hearing Officer
Illinois Pollution Control Board
100 West Randolph, Suite 11-500
Chicago, Illinois 60601
Jonathan Fun
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
One Natural Resources Way
Springfield, Illinois 62702-1271
STATE OF ILLINOIS
Pollution Control Board
Dated
: April 6, 2007
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
1021 North Grand Avenue East
Springfield, Illinois 62794-9276
(217) 782-5544
THIS FILING PRINTED ON RECYCLED PER
* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

 
BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
IN THE MATTER OF :
)
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO:
35 Ill . Adm. Code 302 .102(b)(6), 302 .102(b)(8)
302 .102(b)(10), 302 .208(g), 309 .103(c)(3),
405 .109(b)(2)(A), 405 .109(b)(2)(B), 406 .100(d)
;
REPEALED 35 111
. Adm . Code 406 .203, PART 407 ; and
PROPOSED NEW 35 Ill . Adm. Code 302 .208(h)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTS
THE ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (the "Agency" or "Illinois
EPA") respectfully submits this additional information and documents for the Illinois Pollution
Control Board's (the "Board") R07-9 rulemaking proceeding
. The Agency files this additional
information and documents in support of the Agency's proposal and to address the questions
raised by Dr. Anand Rao, a Senior Environmental Scientist for the Board, at the March 7, 2007
hearing
. The Agency commends the efforts of the Environmental Law & Policy Center, the
Sierra Club, and Prairie Rivers Network in providing helpful questions at this hearing
. The
Agency also thanks the Board for holding this hearing on this important rulemaking proposal
. In
response to Dr
. Rao's questions, the Agency provides the following responses :
Dr. Rao
: "IEPA has granted wet weather dischargers allowed mixing zones for sulfate and
sometimes chloride with consideration to upstream flows in the past few years
. Can you be a
little more specific and tell us what was the receiving stream and what particular source
received this permit?" Transcript ("hereinafter Tr. ), p.55.
An example of a fac lity receiving this type of mixing consideration is Mine X
. The receiving
stream for the mine effluent is a small channelized ditch
. The hardness value measured in the
RECEIVED
CLERK'S OFFICE
APR 0 9 2001
STATE OF ILLINOIS
Pollution Control Board
R07-09
(Rulemaking - Water)
* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

 
mine effluent was lower than the values measured in the ditch upstream of the mine discharge
.
The Agency used average effluent hardness of 373 mg/L to calculate the sulfate standard
. To
calculate the chloride concentration downstream of the mine effluent, the Agency used upstream
and effluent chloride values and average effluent and upstream flows
. The calculated chloride
concentration downstream of the mine effluent was 277 mg/L
. The proposed sulfate standard
equation from Section 302
.208(h)(2)(A) was then used to calculate the allowable sulfate
concentration in the ditch, 1903 mg/L
. This concentration is much higher than the maximum
effluent concentration from the mine
; therefore, no mixing is needed to meet the standard .
The average chloride concentration, however, was 567 mg/L in the effluent
. In order to
determine the allowed mixing during wet weather to assess attainment of the water quality
standard of 500 mg/L, actual flow values from the effluent and the ditch were compared . The
lowest dilution ratio during discharge was 1
.29 to I with much higher ratios at other times .
Given the upstream average chloride of 29
.2 mg/L, the allowable effluent chloride concentration
is 1107 mg/L using 100% of the stream flow at this conservative wet weather discharge
condition
. The permit contains a special condition that prohibits the discharge during dry
weather if the effluent has potential to violate any applicable water quality standards .
Dr. Rao
: "Can you tell me how many mine discharge permits currently exist in the State that are
affected by these rules? " Tr., p.73.
There are 19 active coal mines in Illinois at the present time
. The Agency believes that all of
these mines have discharges that have the potential to exceed either the Board's existing sulfate
or the chloride water quality standards in their final effluent
. Other mine related discharges exist
at mine reclamation sites, coal ash disposal sites, and related facilities not associated with one of
the active mines . These sources total approximately 90 NPDES permits, and most of these
2
* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

 
discharges would also not meet one or both of these standards in the final effluent .
Dr. Rao
: "Has the Illinois State Water Survey identified a map of these 7Q1 .1 streams ; how
many 7Q1 .1 streams are there?" Tr., p.80
.
No, the Illinois State Water Survey has not developed a map depicting the 7Q1 .1 hydrologic
statistics . The Agency, however, does believe that sufficient data and information exist to
identify these 7Ql .1 zero flow streams . As part of the permit application, the applicant will
provide the basic information necessary for identifying these small streams . Where necessary,
the Agency would rely on the expertise of a hydrologist at the Illinois State Water Survey
("ISWS") in identifying the 7Q1
. 1 zero flow streams . The Agency believes that many thousands
of small headwater streams throughout the State would be classified as 7Q1 .1 zero flow streams
.
The exact boundaries of these streams would be determined based on watershed area, rainfall
patterns, and soil type.
Dr. Rao: "Has Dr. Soucek's report undergone peer review? " Tr., p.83.
Dr. Soucek has recently published three peer reviewed papers concerning the research he
conducted under contract from the Illinois EPA, the Illinois Coal Association, and USEPA . The
first paper, Effects of Hardness, Chloride, and Acclimation on the Acute Toxicity of Sulfate to
Freshwater Invertebrates, presents research that was funded by the Illinois EPA and the Illinois
Coal Association. This paper published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry in 2005
and is now included as Exhibit 1 . This paper is a summary of Dr . Soucek's final report to the
Illinois EPA and the Illinois Coal Association which was added as Exhibit Q in the "Facts in
Support" document (See Attachment I of the Agency's proposal)
.
Dr. Soucek has also recently published two papers that the Illinois EPA was previously
unaware of, as both papers were published following the first hearing. The paper entitled,
3
* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

 
Comparison of Hardness- and Chloride-Regulated Acute Effects of Sodium Sulfate on Two
Freshwater Crustaceans,
presents research funded by USEPA and is a summary of Dr
. Soucek's
final report submitted to USEPA, which was included as Exhibit U of the Agency's proposal
.
This publication has now been included as
Exhibit 2 . The second publication entitled,
Bioenergetic Effects of Sodium Sulfate on the Freshwater Crustacean, Ceriodaphnia dubia,
was
published in Ecotoxicology, and is now included as Exhibit 3 .
This paper summarizes research
funded by USEPA and mostly includes data that was reported in the final report to USEPA (See
Exhibit U of the Agency's proposal).
Respectfully Submitted
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTALPROTECTION AGENCY
By :
DATED : April 6, 2007
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
1021 North Grand Avenue East
P.O . Box 19276
Springfield, Illinois 62794-9276
(217) 782-5544
Sanjay K . Sofat
Assistant Counsel
Division of Legal Counsel
4
* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

 
EXHIBIT
1
* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

 
/SE
%pBESS/
EFFECTS OF HARDNESS, CHLORIDE, AND ACCLIMATION ON THE ACUTE
TOXICITY OF SULFATE TO FRESHWATER INVERTEBRATES
DAVID JOHN
SOUCEK,s't and ALAN JAMES KENNEDY$
¶Center for Ecological Entomology, Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign, Illinois 61820, USA
$Analytical Services Incorporated, U .S
. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi 39180
. USA
(Received 17 March 2004 ; Accepted 5 November
2004)
Abstract-The acute toxicity of sulfate to
Ceriodaphnio dubia, Chironomus tentons, Hyalella azleca, and Sphaeriura
simile was
assessed to support potential updates of Illinois (USA) sulfate criteria for the
protection of aquatic life . The mean lethal concentrations
512
(-2,800
to 50%
mg/Lof
mg/L)
a
for
sample
Hand
. azfeca,population
hardness
2,050
(106
(L(SOs),
mg/L
mg/L)for
expressed
.
C.
survival
dubia,as 2,078
ofnag H
.
SOmg/L
azleca
; -/L,
for
was
in
S.
moderately
positively
simile,and
hard
correlated
14.134
reconstituted
mg/L
with
for
chloride
Cwater
. lenrans(MHRW)
concentration
. At
were
constant
as
. Hardnessfollowssulfate
:
also
mgSO,''-was -found
/L at
to
hardness-
ameliorate
90
sodium
mg/L to
sulfate
3,516
toxicity
mg SO,'to
-/L
C .
at
dubiahardness
and H=
. azfeca,484
mg/Lwith
. Using
LC50s
a
forreformulated
C. dubiaincreasing
MHRW with
from
a similar2,05(1
hardness but higher chloride concentration and different calcium to magnesium ratio than that in standard MITRW, the mean LC50
for H. azleca increased to 2,855 mg/L, and the LC50 for C
. dubia increased to 2,526 mg/L . Acclimation of C. dubia to 500 and
1,000 mg SO,'- - /I
. for several generations nominally increased mean LC50 values compared with those cultured in standardMHRW
.
Keywords -Sulfate
Total dissolved solids
Osmoregulation
Hyalella
Toxicity
INTRODUCTION
Aquatic ecotoxicological research has primarily focused on
the impairment of fauna by contaminants that are toxic at
minute concentrations; however, ordinarily benign major ions
(e .g ., sodium, sulfate) can reach concentrations in wastewater
discharges that severely impair sensitive in-stream macroin-
vertebrates and laboratory test organisms [1-5]
. Concentra-
tions of these major ions and therefore, of total dissolved solids
(TDS), which is essentially the sum of the concentrations of
all common ions
(e.g ., sodium, potassium, calcium, magne-
sium, chloride, sulfate, and bicarbonate) in freshwaters, can
be elevated by numerous practices, such as reverse osmosis
systems, pH modifications, and mining operations [6] ; and
investigations of major-ion toxicity have involved irrigation
drainage water [1 ,7-9], inundation of freshwater systems by
brackish water
[3,10], laboratory-formulated salt solutions
[11,12], and mining activities [4,5,13] .
Coal preparation facilities wash coal to reduce sulfur emis-
sions prior to burning in coal-fired power plants and treat waste-
waters for acid-soluble metals . This practice often produces a
waste containing sulfuric acid that is usually neutralized by the
addition of sodium hydroxide or sometimes quicklime (CaO)
prior to release to a receiving system [14] .
The result is an
effluent containing high concentrations of sulfate, sodium, and/
or calcium ions and therefore, TDS
. Other ions potentially pres-
ent at high concentrations because of coal preparation activities
include magnesium and chlorides
; therefore, the interacting ef-
fects of these various ions should be considered . Researchers
have found hardness and multiple "nontoxic" cations in solu-
tion to ameliorate major-ion toxicity ([8,11,15] (ht(p
://s cholar.
lib
.vt.edu/theses/available/ctd-051499-130633/) , and several
" To whom correspondence may be addressed
(d-soucek@ i nhs .uiuc . edu)
1204
Environmental Toxicology
and Chemistry,
Vol 24,
No
. 5, pp .
1204-1210, 2005
C
2005
5ETAC
Printed in the USA
0730.7268/05 $12 00 + 00
studies indicate that calcium is more important than magnesium
in this regard [16-18] .
There are no federal water quality criteria for the protection
of freshwater life for TDS, sulfate, or sodium 119], but several
states, including Illinois, are developing standards for sulfate
to protect aquatic life . Although major-ion
(i .e ., TDS) toxicity
is caused by osmoregulatory stress from the combination of
all cations and anions, chloride standards currently exist, and
Illinois plans to additionally regulate for sulfate in order to
address the major non-chloride component of TDS in these
waters
. Therefore, the objectives of the current study were to
generate lethal concentrations to 50% of a
sample population
(LC50s) and lethal concentrations to 10% of a sample popu-
lation (LCIOs) for sulfate with selected freshwater inverte-
brates (Ceriodaphnia dubia, Chironomus tentans, Hyalella
azleca, and Sphaerium simile) in the U .S . Environmental Pro-
tection Agency
(U .S . EPA)'s [20] moderately hard reconsti-
tuted water (MHRW) and to determine the effects of laboratory
water composition, water hardness, and test organism accli-
mation on the acute toxicity of sulfate . The endpoints generated
are described in terms of sulfate concentrations to address
regulatory issues ; however, it is important to note that in our
exposures, sodium was the major cation, and effects observed
are probably caused by the combination of all dissolved ions .
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Toxicity of sulfate to freshwater invertebrates in "HR W
Four invertebrates were selected for initial testing . Three
of these, C. dubia, H, azleca, and C. tentans,
are standard
U .S
. EPA organisms used to test for either water column or
sediment toxicity [20,21] . The fourth,
S simile, is a fingernail
clam (Bivalvia, Sphaeriidac) that was easily obtained from the
field and represented the phylum Mollusca . Reliable toxicity
data for sodium sulfate have been generated for C
. dubia [1 1],
so this organism was used in the present study for comparative
* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

 
Sulfate toxicity to freshwater invertebrates
purposes . Additionally, previous studies have found C
. dubia
to be more sensitive to major-ion or TDS toxicity than other
U .S
. EPA-recommended test species (e .g ., Daphnia
magna,
Pimephales promelas) [5,9,11] .
The cladoceran, C . dubia,
was cultured in-house (Soucek
Laboratory, Illinois Natural History Survey) according to U .S .
EPA methods [20] . The mean L.C50
in NaCl reference tests
for these C. dubia
cultures was 2,030 tog NaCl/L, which was
comparable to the value of 1,960 mg/L reported in previous
studies [11] .
The midge, C. tentans,
also was cultured in-house
according to U .S . EPA methods [21]
. Prior to testing, larvae
were fed a diet of ground Tetra Mm
® (TetraWerke, Melle,
Germany) flake food and rabbit pellets (free of antibiotics) .
Aniphipods, H azteca,
were obtained from a commercial
source (Aquatic Research Organisms, Hampton, NH, USA)
and were acclimated to MHRW at 22°C
and a 16:8-h (light :
dark) photoperiod for at least 7 d prior to testing
. Sphaeriid
clams were collected from Spring Creek, near Loda, Illinois,
USA, and acclimated to MHRW at 22°C and a 16:8-h
(light :
dark) photoperiod for 5 to 7 d prior to testing
. Clams were
identified to species by Gerald Mackie (University of Guelph,
Department of Zoology, Guelph, ON, Canada) .
For toxicity testing, a pure (99%) grade of anhydrous so-
dium sulfate (Na 2 SO 4 ) (
CAS 7757-82-6) was obtained from
Fisher Scientific (Pittsburgh, PA, USA) to serve as the source
of sulfate. A concentrated solution of this salt (19,040 mg
SO,' - /L), as well as a sample of laboratory-deionized water,
was acidified to pH <2
.0 and analyzed for priority metal con-
centrations at the Illinois State Water Survey (Champaign, IL,
USA) using inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spec-
trometry according to U
.S . EPA methods [22] . All metals an-
alyzed were below acute standard levels ([19],
and R . Mosher,
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Springfield, IL.,
USA, personal communication) in the concentrated sulfate
sample, and all were below detection limits in the deionized
water sample except for iron (37 ttg/L) and zinc (9 sg/L)
. The
actual metal concentrations have already been reported [23] .
For definitive static, nonrenewal toxicity tests, conducted
according to American Society for Testing and Materials E729-
96 methods
[24], treatments comprised a 75% dilution series
(i .e.,
the 100% concentration was serially diluted by 25%),
rather than the standard 50%, because major-ion toxicity tests
often cause 100% mortality in one concentration and 0% mor-
tality in the next highest concentration if the spread is too
great
. Five to six concentrations were tested using MHRW as
both the diluent and control, with four replicates tested per
concentration . Tests with C. dubia and C.
lentans were con-
ducted for 48 h with a 16 :8-h (light
:dark) photoperiod, with
the C . dubia tests being conducted at 25°C and the C
. tentans
tests at 22
°C . H. azteca and S. simile were exposed for 96 h
at 22°C and a 16 :8-h (light :dark) photoperiod
. C. dubia, C.
tentans, and H. azteca
were exposed in 50-m1 glass beakers
with five organisms per beaker, and for C
.
tentans
and H.
azteca, I
g of quartz sand was added to each beaker to serve
as substrate
. Clam tests were conducted in 150-m1 glass bea-
kers (no substrate) with three to five organisms per replicate,
depending on the animal size . All clams used were juveniles
.
In the first experiment, clams averaged 4
.6 mm in length (an-
terior to posterior margin), whereas in the second and third
tests, they averaged 5 .4 and 8
.3 mm in length, respectively.
This slight difference in size for the last test did not substan-
tially affect toxicity . C dubia
used were <24 h old, C tentans
were 10 d old, and H.
azteca were approximately third insist
Environ. Toeivol . Chem
. 24, 2005
1 20 5
(7-14 d old)
. Percent survival in each replicate was recorded
every 24 h and at the end of the exposure period
. A dissecting
microscope was used to assess survival
of llyalella and
Sphaerium .
Standard water chemistry parameters, including tempera-
ture, fill, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, alkalinity, and hard-
ness, were measured at both the beginning and the end of each
exposure period. The pH measurements were made using an
Accumet® (Fisher Scientific, Pittsburgh, PA, USA) model
AB15 p1I meter equipped with an Accouter gel-filled combi-
nation electrode (accuracy <±0
.05 pH at 25 ° C) . Dissolved
oxygen was measured using an air-calibrated Yellow Springs
Instruments (Yellow Springs, OH, USA) model 58 meter with
a self-stirring biochemical oxygen-demand probe . Conductiv-
ity measurements were made using a Mettler Toledo ®
(Fisher
Scientific) model MC226 conductivity/TDS meter
. Alkalinity
and hardness were measured (beginning of tests only) by ti-
tration as described in work by the American Public Health
Association [25] . Samples from each treatment were analyzed
to confirm sulfate concentrations by ion chromatography at
the Illinois Natural History Survey Aquatic Chemistry Lab-
oratory (Champaign, IL, USA) .
All LC50 values were calculated using either the Spearman-
Karber method or probit analysis . To increase confidence in
LC50 values, three assays were
conducted with each organism,
except that only two were conducted for C
. tenlans because
of their relative tolerance and low variation in LC50s for the
first two tests . This provided a stronger estimate of the mean
LC50 value for each species . Geometric means are reported
because they are less affected by extreme values
. In addition,
LC 10 values were calculated for all species
. With the exception
of those for H. azteca,
all LC50 values presented are geometric
means of the Spearman-Karber LC50s for a given species,
generated from measured sulfate concentrations . The H. azteca
data did not permit use of the Spearman-Karber method, so
probit analysis was used
. The LCIO values presented were
generated using probit analysis (the Spearman-Karber program
does not calculate LCIOs) with the combined data from all
tests for a given species .
Influence of dilution water composition on sulfate toxicity
Based on observations of others that fl azteca
had much
better control survival in water-only whole-effluent toxicity
tests using modified laboratory water [26], experiments were
conducted to determine sulfate LC50 values for C. dubia
and
H azteca using the alternate water type referred to as refor-
mulated moderately hard reconstituted water (RMIIRW)
. Re-
formulated moderately hard reconstituted water is similar to
MHRW with two basic differences : The nominal chloride con-
centration in RMHRW is nearly 18-fold higher than that in
MHRW, and the calcium and magnesium salt concentrations
are adjusted so that RMHRW has a Ca :Mg molar ratio of 3.25 :
1, whereas MHRW has a Ca :Mg molar ratio of 0 .88
:1 (table
1) . A minor modification in the present study was that an-
hydrous CaSO 4 (CAS 7778-18-9) was used for both RMHRW
and MHRW. The nominal concentrations shown in Table I
take this modification into account
. Mean LC50s and LC1Os
were generated for both species in this water using the same
laboratory and calculation methods as described above, with
the only exception being the changed diluent/control water .
An additional experiment was conducted with H
azteca to
attempt to isolate the two basic differences between MHRW
and RMHRW
. In this experiment, only one nominal sulfate
* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

 
1206
Envtron . Toxicol
. Chem. 24, 2005
Tabletin
.
testing
Nominal
withchemical
Hyalella
composition
azteca andof
two
Ceriodaplmia
laboralorywaters
dubia
used
°
°
mg/L(standard
RMHRW
The
MHRW
average
.
=
=
moderately
reformulated
deviation),
pH for all
hard
and
moderately
treatments
reconstituted
dissolved
during
hard
oxygen
reconstituted
water
all
never
tests
[201dropped
.
was
water8below
.0 t
[26)6
0.2
.5
.
"Conductivity
concentration
Conductivity (S/cm)
and
of
followed
samples
= 1.711
a
in
linear
t
MHRW
[SOL
trend
(mg/L)]
varied
described
+
depending
717,15,
by
r=
the
upon
=
formula0.9963SO;'
.
:
concentration (2,500 mg/L) was tested with various base wa-
ters . The first of these was MHRW
; the second was RMHRW
;
the third, called chloride, had the same chloride concentration
ratio
(33.9
(0mg/L)
.88:1)
as
as
RMHRW
MHRW(Table
; and the
1)
final
but the
medium,
same
called
Ca:Mg
Ca/Mg,molar
had the same Ca
:Mg molar ratio (3 .25
:1) as RMHRW, but the
same chloride concentration (1
.9 mg/L) as MHRW. Hyalella
was exposed to these four treatments for 96 h at 22
° C . Mean
percent survivorship values for each treatment were compared
using analysis of variance with JMP-1N® software
[27] .
Influence of hardness
on the toxicity of
sodium sulfate
In these experiments, we tested the toxicity of sulfate (with
sodium as the major cation) to C . dubia
in six freshwater
solutions having nominal hardness values of <100 (standard
U .S
. EPA MHRW), 200, 300, 400, 500, and 600 mg/L (as
CaCO 3) .
Hardness was increased by adding enough CaSO,
(CAS 7778-18-9) and MgSO, (CAS 7487-88-9) in the same
achieve
molar ratio
the
as
nominal
that in
hardness
U.S
. EPA
valuesMHRW
. Then
(Ca/Mg
Na,S04=
was
0added,.88)
to
as was done with the standard MHRW
. Whole carboys were
made at each elevated hardness level, and this water was used
as both diluent and control
; therefore, each concentration with-
in a given test had the same hardness
(i .e ., [Ca"] and [Mg"]
did not change with dilution)
. The only parameters that varied
within a particular test were sodium, sulfate, and conductivity
.
At least three tests were conducted for each hardness level to
provide a mean LC50 value and standard deviation
. Exposures
were conducted using the same laboratory and calculation
methods described above, with the only exception being the
hardness of the diluent
. An additional assay was conducted
with H. azteca
at only one sulfate concentration (1,460 mg/
L) and three different hardness levels (90, 200, and 300 mg/
L as CaCO,) .
Hyalella was exposed to sulfate at each of these
hardness levels for 96 h, and mean percent survival was com-
pared between treatments using analysis of variance with JMP-
IN (27]
.
Influence of
chloride on the toxicity o('sulfate
In this experiment, we tested the toxicity of sulfate to 11
.
azteca
in six freshwater solutions having nominal chloride
D .1 . Soucek and A
.J . Kennedy
Table 2 .
Toxicity of sulfate to freshwater organisms in MHRW°
geometric
Lethal
MHRW =
concentrations
moderately
means of all
hard
Speannan-Karbcr
to
reconstituted
50%
. of a sample
values
waterpopulation
generated
[20] .
(LC5Os)
for a giv-are
en
was
organism
>90% in
using
all exposuresmeasured
sulfate
.
concentrations
. Control survival
`Lethal
were
all tests
generated
concentration
for a given
using
speciesto
probit
10%
.
of
analysis
a sample
with
population
the combined
ft-C10)
data
valuesfrom
'Tests
third test
produced
was not
similar
conductedLC50s
.
and because values were so high, a
concentrations of 1
.9, 10, 15, 20, 32, and 60 mg/L
. Chloride,
as NaCl (CAS 7647-14-5, Fisher Scientific AC42429-0010),
was added at appropriate concentrations to a solution with a
hardness of approximately 106 mg/L (Ca/Mg = 3
.25, molar
ratio) and a nominal sulfate concentration of 2,800 mg/I,
. The
only parameters that varied between treatments were sodium
and chloride
. In general, tests were conducted using the same
laboratory methods as described above for
Hyalella . Sulfate,
chloride, and bromide were measured in test solutions by ion
chromatography
. Hyalella was exposed to sulfate at each of
the six chloride levels for 96 h, and mean percent survival was
compared between treatments using analysis of variance with
JMP-]N[27]
. One additional aspect of this experiment that was
different from others in this study using
Hyalella was that the
organisms were cultured in RMHRW and not acclimated to
MIIRW, as in previous experiments, to potentially improve the
health of the test organisms
[26] . Finally, two test endpoints
were recorded
. Tests were checked for survival under a dis-
secting microscope, and total survival included all living in-
dividuals, even if they were lying on the bottom and only legs
were twitching . Functional survivors included only those in-
dividuals that were active and upright or burrowing .
Influence of acclimation on
the toxicity
of sulfate to
C . dubia
This experiment was designed to determine the effects of
acclimation to relatively high sulfate levels on the response of
MHRW
C. dubia
with
to sulfateNa2SO, .
added
C. dubia
to achieve
were cultured
sulfate concentrationsin
U .S
. EPA
of 500 and 1,000 mg/L
. After two to three generations had
been cultured in these two sulfate concentrations, acclimated
organisms were tested in high sulfate solutions using standard
MHRW as a diluent and control as described above
. Three
replicate tests were conducted for each acclimation level to
provide a mean LC50 value and standard deviation
.
RESULTS
Toxicity of sulfate to freshwater invertebrates in MHRW
Of the four species tested in MHRW, the most sensitive
was 1i. azteca,
with a mean LC50 of 512 mg S042-a /L (Table
2) . C. dubia and the fingernail clam, S
.
Simile,
were similar
in sensitivity, with mean LC50s of 2,050 and 2,078 mg
SO; - /L, respectively
. C
. lentans was tolerant to sulfate ex-
posure, with a mean LC50 of 14,134 mg SO
; -/L. The LCIO
values were calculated by analyzing all tests for each species
Species
n
Mean LC50"
(mg SO,' - /I,)
Range
(i ng SO;/L) (mg
LCI0`SO
; -/L)
Sphaerium
Ilyalella
CeriodaplmiaChironomusaztecasimile
tentan,sdubia
33
32a
14,1342,0782,050
512
141,901-2,3191,869-2,270.123-14,146431-607
11,6821,5021,759262
Component (units)
MHRW
RMHRW'
Mgt*
HCOj
K*
Conductivity
Ca/Mg
Hardness
Na`
Ca"pH`SO'
CI-(mg/L)(mg/L)(mg/L)(mg/L)(mg/If(mg/L)(mg/L)(molar
(mg/L
(S/cm)°ratio)as
CaCO,)
2959069179426120
72L9.9.1.7.3.1.2.688
34110759326926337632.7.25.9.3.1.7.2.1.9
* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

 
Sulfate toxicity to freshwater invertebrates
Table 3 . Influence of culture/testing water composition on toxicity of sulfate to
//yolella azteca and Ceriodaphnia duhia
simultaneously, and these ranged from 262 mg SO; - /L for
Hyalella
to 11,682 mg SO - /L for C . tentons (Table 2) .
Influence of dilution water composition on sulfate toxicity
Testing H. azteca in RMHRW produced a strikingly dif-
ferent response compared to results of tests in MHRW (Table
3) . The mean LC50 in RMHRW (2,855 mg S024- / L) was more
than 5 .5-fold higher (p < 0 .0001) than that generated using
MHRW (512 mg SO;-/L), with a >8-fold increase in the LCIO
value .
C. dubia also had a significantly different (p = 0 .0205),
though not as striking, response, with the mean LC50 increas-
ing from 2,050 mg S042-/L in MHRW to 2,526 mg SO ; - /L in
RMHRW. The LCIO for C. duhia increased from 1,759 mg /
L in MHRW to 2,216 mg SO; -/L in RMHRW (Table 3)
.
In the experiment with H. azteca
designed to dissect the
effects observed in RMHRW, only 45% and 55% of the test
organisms exposed to 2,500 mg
S042 -/L
were alive in the
MHRW and Ca/Mg treatments, respectively, after 48 h, where-
as 85% and 80% survived in the RMHRW and chloride media,
respectively (Fig- 1)
. After 96 h, all of the organisms had died
in MHRW and Ca/Mg, whereas 80% still survived in RMHRW
and 25% survived in chloride . These data suggest that chloride
played the larger role in protecting H azteca against sulfate
toxicity and that the different Ca :Mg ratio played a smaller
role .
Influence of hardness on the toxicity of sodium sulfate
Increasing water hardness decreased the toxicity of sodium
sulfate to H. azteca (Fig . 2)
. In controls, 90% of test organisms
20
n
MHRW
RMHRW
Chloride
Calm,
Fig, I Effect of various components of reformulated, moderately hard,
reconstituted water (RMHRW) on percent survival ofHyalella azteca
in elevated (2,500 mg SO ;- / L) sulfate solutions . The chloride and Ca/
Mg treatments consisted of standard moderately hard reconstituted
water (MHRW) with chloride or Ca :Mg molar ratio adjusted to match
RMHRW
Envirnn . To.x,col. Chem . 24, 2005
1207
°
Different
LCIO
LC50 == lethal
lethal
capital
concentration
concentration
letters indicate
toto
50%means
10%
of
of
are
a
a
significantly
sample
sample
populationpopulationdifferent
.
.
(p < 0 .05) . Only intraspecific comparisons were tested
.
' MIIRW = moderately hard reconstituted water 1201 .
RMHRW = reformulated moderately hard reconstituted water [26] .
survived in MHRW (no sulfate added), whereas after 96 h, all
organisms were dead in the hardness = 100, SO ; - = 1,460
mg/L treatment . However, in the hardness = 200 and hardness
= 300 mg/L treatments, 15% and 60% of test organisms sur-
vived, respectively.
Whereas the mean LC50 for C. duhia in standard MIIRW
(hardness = 90) was 2,050 mg SO
; L, the mean LC50s sub-
stantially increased at hardness values of 200 and 300 mg/L
(Table 4) . Mean LC50s were even higher at the higher hardness
values of 390, 484, and 578 mg/L, with a maximum of 3,516
mg SO; - /L at a hardness of 484 (Table 4) . The LC10s increased
as well, from 1,759 mg SO ; -/L at a hardness of 90 mg/L to
2,173 mg SO4 /L, and 2,389 mg SO; -/L at hardness values of
200 and 300 mg/L, respectively . Whereas in the 90 through
500 nominal hardness tests, measured sulfate concentrations
were very close to nominal sulfate concentrations, measured
sulfate in the 600 nominal hardness tests was somewhat lower
than nominal sulfate concentrations, suggesting that some pre-
cipitation of CaSO, occurred . Therefore, results may be ques-
tionable at this hardness level . If the mean LC1O at that hard-
ness is excluded, a linear relationship exists between water
hardness and LCIO, described by the formula LCIO (mg
SO ; /L) = 2
.685(hardness) + 1595.5, r2 = 0.959 . When the
LC10 at a hardness of 578 (nominal hardness of 600) is in-
cluded, the relationship is better described by a logarithmic
function with the formula LCI0 (mg SO ;
-/L) _
526 .24(ln[hardness])-574 .81 (rr= 0
.8713)
.
048 hours
722hous
RC
96 hours
-
control (EPA hardness-IW haNms
00 hardness x300
water)
Fig . 2 . Effect of hardness on toxicity of elevated sulfate to Hyale/la
in moderately hard reconstituted water. Average measured sulfate con-
centration was 1,460 mg/L (standard deviation = 25) fur the three
treatments excluding the control (106 mg/L sulfate) . EPA = Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency . Different upper- or lower-case letters
indicate means are significantly different (p < 0 .05) .
Species
Water type
Mean' LC50s
(mg SOI - /L)
Range
LC10^
(mg SO; -/L)
CC
IL
1/C.
.
duhia"teeaztecaduhia
.
MHRWRMHRW^RMHRWMHRW'
2,050
2,855
2.526512 AHBA
2,436
1,869-2,2702,835-2,876431-607-2,607
2,1852,2161,759262
* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

 
1208
Environ . Toxicol
. Chem. 24, 2005
Table 4 . Influence of water hardness on toxicity of sulfate to
Ceriodaphnia dvhia in MHRW'
MHRW = moderately hard reconstituted water [20] .
Lethal concentrations to 50% of a sample population (LC50s) are
geometric means craft Spearman-Karber values generated for a giv-
en organism using measured sulfate concentrations,
°Lethal concentration to 10% of a sample population (Lot)
values
were generated using probit analysis with the combined data from
all tests for a given treatment .
Influence of chloride on
the toxicity of sulfate
Sulfate toxicity to H. azteca decreased with increased levels
of chloride when hardness was held constant (Fig . 3) . At the
lowest measured chloride concentration tested (5 mg/L), only
20% of the test organisms exposed to 2,846 ntg
S02 -1L
were
alive after 96 h, and none of these organisms were functionally
alive. At 13 mg CI -
/L, both total and functional survival in-
creased nominally, but not significantly (p > 0 .05) ; however,
significant increases in total and functional survival were ob-
served at and above 18 mg Cl /L (p < 0.05)
. Survival was
85% and 100% in the 36 and 67 mg Cl-/L treatments, re-
spectively . Bromide concentrations in all treatments were be-
low detection limits (<0 .01 mg/L) .
Influence of acclimation on the toxicity
ofsufate to C . dubia
In this experiment, with
C. dubia acclimated for several
generations to either 500 or 1,000 mg S0
42-/L,
nominal in-
creases in mean LC50 values were observed ; however, these
means were not significantly greater (p < 0 .05) than that for
organisms cultured in standard MHRW (Fig . 4) .
too
90
so
70
6
0
20
o total
∎functional
5
36
18
23
chloride (mg/L)
Fig . 3 . Effect of increasing chloride concentrations on sulfate toxicity
to Hya/ells azleca. Mean t standard deviation sulfate concentration
for all treatments was 2,846
'-
80 mg SOj-/L, mean hardness was
106 t 2 mg/L as CaCO3 , and Ca:Mg was 5.4 : 1, Different upper- or
lower-case letters indicate means are significantly different (p < 0 .05) .
Total = all survivors including those lying on bottom barely moving ;
functional = survivors that arc moving about .
67
D .J . Soucck and A .J . Kennedy
500
E
2300 -
2100
1900
E
0
E
1700
1500
I
A
I
A
MHRW
MHRW+500mgIL MHRW11000mg/L
sulfate
sulfate
culture water
Fig . 4 . Effect ofacclimation on sulfate toxicity to
Ceriodaphnia dubia_
Organisms were cultured for at least two generations m moderately
hard reconstituted water (MIIRW) . MIIRW with 500 mg
S04'_,
or
MHRW with 1,000 mg SO ; - . Three tests were conducted with each
population of organisms, Treatments with the same upper-case letters
indicate that means are not significantly different (p < 0 .05) . LC50
= median lethal concentration .
DISCUSSION
Toxicity of ,sulfate to
freshwater invertebrates in MHRW
The geometric mean for the three tests with C. dubia in
this study was 2,050 mg SO; /L (Table 2), which compares
favorably with the value of 3,080 mg Na,SO,/L (equivalent
to 2,082 mg SO ; - /L) generated in previous studies [11] . Values
generated in this study for H . azteca
and S.
simile
were lower
than values generated by others for the fathead minnow, P.
promelas (5,380 mg/L), and D . magna (3,096 mg/L) [7 lj . The
midge, C. tentans, was relatively insensitive compared with
other invertebrates . This finding agrees with the observation
of no significant reductions in relative chironomid abundance
in waters exceeding 3,000 mg SO ; -/L below a coal processing
discharge facility (A .J . Kennedy, unpublished data) . The Brit-
ish Columbia Ministry of Environment, Land and Parks
(BCMELP) has an online database (w lapwww .gov .bc .ca/wa d
wq/BCguidelines/sulphate/index .html) that includes a variety
of sulfate toxicity data for a number species . The values gen-
erated by BCMELP for Hyalella were quite variable and not
similar to that obtained in this study using MHRW ; however,
with the exception of hardness estimates, water quality data
were not presented in the database, so it is difficult to make
comparisons with our study . As will be discussed below, water
quality data, including cations and anions present, are critical
for predicting the responses of freshwater organisms (espe-
cially Hyalella) to elevated sulfate concentrations .
Influence of chloride on the toxicity of sulfate
The composition of dilution water used during testing in
this study had a dramatic effect on the toxicity of sulfate to
Hyalella
. In fact, the 96-h LC50 in RMHRW was 5 .5-fold
higher than that generated using MHRW . Both dilution waters
were similar in terms of hardness (-90-106 mg/L as CaCO,),
alkalinity, and fill, but one potential reason for the difference
in response is the difference in chloride concentrations between
the two media (see Table 1) . Freshwater organisms tend to
osmoregulate hypertonically with respect to the surrounding
medium, achieved by active transport of ions into the hemo-
lymph [28,29] . The principal inorganic anion of crustacean
hemolymph is chloride, and it has been suggested that low
chloride concentrations may limit the distribution of at least
Ilardncss,
nominal
(actual)
n
Mean LC50s
(mg SO;-/L)
Range
(mg SO; - /L)
LCIO ,
(mg S04'- /L)
9o (89)
2,050
1,969-2,270
1,759
200 (194)
3,000
2,706-3,265
2,173
300 (288)
2,946
2,383-3,361
2,389
400 (390)
3,174
3,073-3,369
2,744
500 (484)
3,516
3,338 3,716
2,793
600 (578)
3,288
2,761-4,220
2,547
* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

 
Sulfate toxicity to freshwater invertebrates
one cut yhaline amphipod (Co, ophiurn crurvispinum) in fresh-
waters [30] . H. azteca is a euryhaline amphipod [7], and per-
haps when encountering high ion (Na` and SO') concentra-
tions in MHRW, it is not able to osmoregulate because of the
relatively low concentration of chloride . This same effect was
observed, to a lesser extent, with C . dubia .
The experiment with Hvalella, in which hardness and sul-
fate were held constant and chloride was variable (see Fig . 3),
supports the hypothesis that chloride has a protective effect
against sulfate toxicity, because incremental increases in chlo-
ride were associated with incremental increases in survival .
Borgmann [31] included bromide as one of the ions required
by Hyalella for long-term survival, stating that chloride is not
required ; however, chloride is chemically similar to bromide,
and results of this study indicate that if chloride is not indeed
required, it does appear to at least provide protection from salt
toxicity . Bromide was not present at measurable concentrations
(<0
.01 mg/L) In our experiments . The results of this study
further support the findings of others that MIIRW may not be
an acceptable medium for water-only testing with Hyalella
[26] .
The fingernail clam, S. simile, had a marginally lower LC10
value for sulfate than that of C, dubia in MHRW, but the former
was not tested in RMHRW because of temporal restrictions
in its availability . It remains unclear whether or not mollusks
will have the same physiological response as two crustaceans
to increased chloride in toxicity experiments with sulfate . In
a field study, 76% of transplanted Asian clams
(Corbicula
/lumlnea) in and below a treated mining discharge survived
sulfate levels of approximately 3,600 mg SO ;- /L with -700
mg CI - /L, although, as will be discussed below
. hardness
(700-800 mg/L as CaCO,) likely played a role in this system
[5] . Chloride is a principal anion in the hemolymph of most
bivalves [32], but others have found that in the unionoidean
Toxolasma texasensis, chloride and bicarbonate are equivalent
anionic components [33] . Because bicarbonate is readily avail-
able via respiration and metabolism, this mussel may not de-
pend on external chloride concentrations for osmorcgulation
to the extent that some crustaceans do . If this is the case, the
effect of chloride observed for Hvalella and Ceriodaphnia
might not be manifested in some unionoidean bivalves, and
further work should be done to clarify this .
Influence of hardness on the toxicity of
sodium
sulfate
Another factor that appears to have a strong effect on the
toxicity of sulfate is the presence of other major cations, in
this case, calcium and magnesium, measured as hardness . In
our sodium-dominated system, increased hardness reduced the
toxicity of sulfate to Hyalella ( see Fig . 2) and had a dramatic
effect on the 48-h LC50 for C
.
dubia (see Table 4)
. Mount et
al . [II] obtained a similar result in that when using only
Na,SO4 , the LC50 for C . dubia was 2,082 mg SO; -/L,
but
when using a L 1 ratio of Na2SO4 and MgSO4 , the LC50 in-
creased to 2,335 mg SO /L . They were careful to point out
that the effect was not necessarily caused by hardness, but
rather by multiple major cations, citing that the LC50 (ex-
pressed as mg CI - /L) for C dubia in NaCI was nearly identical
to that in CaCI,, despite the fact that the two solutions had
very different hardness values . However, increased calcium is
known to decrease the passive permeability of gill epithelia
to water and ions in seawater-adapted fish and crabs [34,35J .
A similar phenomenon may explain the results of the hardness
experiments conducted in this study ; i .e ., we hypothesize that
Environ Toxicol. Chem . 24, 2005
1209
the increased calcium concentrations at higher hardness levels
reduced epithelial permeability, thus reducing passive diffu-
sion and the energy required to osmoregulate and accounting
for the decrease in toxicity . In support of this hypothesis, the
decreased toxicity of sulfate to 1yalella in RMIIRW was not
entirely explained by the increased chloride concentration (see
Fig . I), The different Ca :Mg ratio also appeared to have an
effect, and hardness in RMHRW was similar to that in MHRW
(- 106 and -90 mg/L as CaCO 5 , respectively) . An alternative
hypothesis is that increased calcium is competing for binding
sites in a manner similar to that proposed for metals like copper
[36] ; however, this may be unlikely, because sulfate is an anion
and sodium is a monovalent cation . Further experiments are
required to test these hypotheses .
Others have observed reduced toxicity of saline solutions
because of increased hardness . Dwyer et al . [8] demonstrated
that increasing the hardness of an NaCl-dominated irrigation
return water reduced its toxicity to striped bass and
D . magna .
A similar phenomenon was observed with a coal processing
discharge in Ohio, USA [5,15] . Although this discharge did
include elevated sulfate (3,672 mg/L) and chloride (792 mg/
L) concentrations, the nature of the toxicity was complicated
by other ions in solution . The hardness of the field-collected
effluent (-792 ± 43 mg/L as CaCO,) and several synthetic
solutions of varying hardness appeared to reduce sodium and
sulfate-dominated TDS toxicity in a fashion similar to that
observed in the current study, on both an acute and chronic
scale [5 ; Alan l . Kennedy, unpublished data] . In addition, the
BCMELP database suggests a hardness effect on sulfate tox-
icity for both D . magna and Hyalella . The present study has
shown quantitatively that, in a sodium-dominated system, sul-
fate toxicity is reduced as hardness progressively increases,
although results may require further investigation at the highest
hardness tested (578 mg/L) . Higher hardness levels should be
tested to determine whether the relationship remains linear or
is logarithmic and reaches an asymptote .
Influence of acclimation on the toxicity
of sulfate to C . dubia
We hypothesized that C. dubia acclimated to varying levels
of sulfate would be less sensitive to sulfate than naive organ-
isms, as implied in other studies addressing TDS acclimation
[1,37] and shock [38] . Although the LC50s for the sulfate-
acclimated organisms were nominally higher, the means were
not significantly different from those of unacelimated organ-
isms . Perhaps more generations of exposure are required before
a significant benefit is seen, and further work should be done
in this area .
CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion, sulfate toxicity is a complex issue, and a
number of factors may interact to determine the responses of
various organisms to sodium and sulfate-dominated, saline wa-
ters . We have found that in MHRW, 11. azteca is the most
sensitive to sulfate of the four invertebrates tested, followed
by C. dubia
and
S
. simile, then C. tentans . Furthermore, we
demonstrated that increasing chloride concentration reduces
the toxicity of sulfate to Hyalella, and increasing water hard-
ness ameliorates sodium sulfate toxicity to
Hyalella and C.
dubia . More research is required into the hardness issue to
determine whether it was truly calcium that ameliorated sulfate
toxicity, because only one Ca
:Mg ratio was used in this study
when increasing hardness, and other major cations like potas-
* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

 
121 0
Environ Toricol . Chem . 24, 2005
sittm were not investigated
. In addition, the actual mechanism
behind the mode of protection from multiple cations should
be studied . Finally, the aforementioned issues should be ex-
amined at a chronic scale using sublethal and/or multigener-
ational endpoints as more accurate indicators of population-
level effects
.
Acknowledgement--This
study was funded by the Illinois Environ-
mental Protection Agency and the Illinois Coal Association
. The au-
thors thank loan Esarey, Center for Ecological Entomology, Illinois
Natural History Survey (INHS), Jens Sandberger, Center for Aquatic
Ecology . INKS, and L
.oretta Skowron, Illinois State Water Survey .
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22 . U .S . Environmental Protection Agency
. 1994 . Methods for the
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23
. Soacek DJ . 2004. Effects of hardness, chloride, and acclimation
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. 2002 . Standardguide
for conducting acute toxicity tests on test materials with fishes,
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EXHIBIT
2
* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

 
/SETAVPNESS/
Environmentat Toxicology and Chemistry, Vol . 26, No . 4, pp . 773-779 . 2007
© 2007 SETAC
Printed in the USA
0730-7268/07 $12
.00 ~
.00
COMPARISON OF HARDNESS- AND CHLORIDE-REGULATED ACUTE EFFECTS OF
SODIUM SULFATE ON TWO FRESHWATER CRUSTACEANS
DAVID JOHN SOUCEK*
Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign, Illinois 61920, USA
(Received 9 May 2006 ; Accepted 31 October 2006)
Abstract-Based on previous observations that hardness (and potentially chloride) influences sodium sulfate toxicity, the objective
of the current study was to quantify the influence of both chloride and water hardness on acute toxicity to Hyde/lo azteca and
Cerfodaphaia dubia . In addition, observed toxicity data from the present study were compared to toxicity predictions by the salinity/
toxicity relationship (Sfld) model . Hardness had a strong influence on sulfate toxicity that was similar for both crustaceans, and
nearly identical median lethal concentration (LC50)/hardness slopes were observed for the two species over the tested range .
Chloride had a strong but variable influence on sulfate acute toxicity, depending on the species tested and the concentration range .
At lower chloride concentrations, LC50.s for H
.
azteca strongly were correlated positively with chloride concentration, although
chloride did not affect the toxicity of sodium sulfate to C . dubia . The opposite trend was observed over the higher range of chloride
concentrations where there was a negative correlation between chloride concentration and sulfate LC50 for both species . The widely
ranging values for both species and a high correlation between LC50s in terms of sulfate and conductivity suggested that, whether
based on sulfate, conductivity, or total dissolved solids (TDS), attempts at water quality standard development should incorporate
the fact that water quality parameters such as hardness and chloride strongly influence the toxicity of high TDS solutions . The STR
model predicted toxicity to C. dubia relatively well when chloride was variable and hardness fixed at approximately 100 mg/L ;
however, the model did not account for the protective effect of hardness on major ion/TDS toxicity .
Keywords-Sulfate
Total dissolved solids
Hyoleta
Ceriodaphnia
Salinity/toxicity relationship model
INTRODUCTION
Currently no federal water quality criteria exist for the pro-
tection of freshwater life for total dissolved solids (TDS), sul-
fate, or sodium ; however, toxicity due to major ions or TDS
has received increasing attention in recent years [1,2] . Ordi-
narily benign major ions (e .g ., sodium, sulfate) and, therefore,
TDS, which is essentially the sum of the concentrations of all
common ions (e .g ., sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium,
chloride, sulfate, and bicarbonate) in freshwaters, can reach
concentrations in wastewater discharges that severely impair
sensitive aquatic species [3-7] . Common sources of effluents
with elevated TDS include reverse osmosis systems, pH mod-
ifications of wastewater, agricultural runoff, gas and oil pro-
duction, and coal or metal mining operations [11 ; investigations
of major ion toxicity also have included inundation of fresh-
water systems by brackish water and laboratory-formulated
salt solutions [5-13] .
The fact that TDS toxicity is dependent on the ionic com-
position of a water or effluent has been well established
17,9,12,[4,15] . Mount et al . [l2] developed statistical models
to predict toxicity of high TDS waters to standard test organ-
isms based on ionic composition ; seven major ions (Na', K',
Ca"-', Mg', Cl- , HCO,, and SO2-) were included in the anal-
ysis . In that study, solutions were more toxic when dominated
by particular major ions (i.e., K', Mg', HCO ;), and toxicity
due to several individual ions, including SO ; - , to Cerio-
daphnia dubia and Daplmia magna was reduced when so-
lutions contained more than one cation [12] . Several research-
ers have observed that hardness and/or multiple nontoxic cat-
ions in solution ameliorate major ion toxicity [9,12,15], and
*To whom correspondence may be addressed
( d -soucek@inhs .uiuc .ed u ) .
773
laboratory experiments with synthesized freshwaters have
demonstrated that increasing hardness at a constant calcium-
to-magnesium ratio (Ca :Mg) results in decreased sodium sul-
fate toxicity to C. dubia [14) .
In experiments with sodium sulfate in laboratory-synthe-
sized freshwaters, Soucek and Kennedy [14] observed that,
while composition of dilution water strongly affected sulfate
toxicity to C . dubia, the magnitude of the effect on H. azteca
was even greater. Specifically, whereas the median lethal con-
centrations (LC50s) for
C
. dubia in two diluents with different
chloride concentrations and Ca :Mg ratios ranged from 2,050
to 2,526 mg SO
; -/L,
the LC5os for H. azteca in the same two
diluents were 512 and 2,855 mg SO; /L, respectively [141 .
Freshwater organisms use several different osmorcgulatory
strategies, but most freshwater amphipods and daphnid cla-
docerans regulate hypertonically with respect to the surround-
ing medium ; this is achieved by active transport of ions, prin-
cipally chloride, into the hemolymph (see [ 16-191) . However,
even among amphipods, there is a wide range of sodium and
chloride influx rates and integument permeabilities, which de-
termine osmoregulatory effectiveness [20,21], so the ionic
composition of water may regulate to varying degrees the
response of different species to high levels of sodium sulfate .
The observed contrast in responses of C .
dubia and H .
azteca to sulfate under different water quality conditions [14]
led to the interest in quantifying the relationships between
sulfate toxicity and hardness and chloride concentrations for
the two distantly related freshwater crustaceans
. Therefore, the
objectives of the current study first were to determine the
influence of hardness on sodium sulfate toxicity to H . azteca
and to compare its responses to those of C . dubia
and, second,
to quantify the effects of chloride on acute toxicity of sodium
* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

 
774
Environ . ToricoL CIa-in . 26, 2007
sulfate to H . azieca and C. duhia over a wide range of chloride
concentrations . The data generated in the first two objectives
were useful for investigating the relationship between LC50s
calculated in terms of sulfate and those calculated in terms of
conductivity to determine the potential utility of a conductiv-
ity- or TDS-based water quality standard . The data also pre-
sented an opportunity to test the effectiveness of the salinity/
toxicity relationship (STR) model developed by Mount and
Gulley [221 in predicting acute toxicity of a wide range of
sodium, sulfate, chloride, and hardness combinations to C .
dubia .
MATERIALS AND METHODS
General culturing and testing methods
The cladoceran, Ceriodaphnia dubia, was cultured in the
laboratory according to U .S . Environmental Protection Agency
(U .S . EPA) methods [231 . Amphipods, Hyalella azteca, also
were cultured in the laboratory according to U .S . EPA methods
1241 in a reformulated, moderately hard, reconstituted water
described in Smith et al . [25]
For toxicity testing, a pure (99%) grade of anhydrous so-
dium sulfate (Na,SO,) (Chemical Abstract Service [CAS]
7757-82-6) was obtained from Fisher Scientific (Pittsburgh,
PA, USA) to serve as the source of sulfate . Previous experi-
ments indicated that the salts and deionized water sources used
for our experiments had low to undetectable levels of trace
metal contaminants [14,26] .
For definitive static, nonrenewal toxicity tests, conducted
according to American Society for Testing and Materials E729-
96 methods [271, treatments comprised a 75% dilution series
(i .e ., the 100% concentration was diluted serially by 25%),
rather than the standard 50%, because major ion toxicity tests
often cause 100% mortality in one concentration and 0% mor-
tality in the next highest concentration if the spread is too
great . Five to six concentrations were tested in addition to
controls with four replicates tested per concentration . Tests
with C. dubia were conducted for 48 h with a 16 :8-h light :
dark photoperiod at 25'C, and H. azteca were exposed for 96
h at 22'C and a 16 :8-h light :dark photoperiod . Both organisms
were exposed in 50-ml glass beakers with five organisms per
beaker and, for H . azteca . I
g of quartz sand was added to
each beaker to serve as substrate . Only one of the 63 tests was
fed, and that fed test had an LC50 in the range of two other
tests conducted with the same organism in the same water
without food . Ceriodaphnia duhia used were less than 24-h
old, and H. azteca were approximately third instar (7-14-d
old) . Percent survival in each replicate was recorded every 24
h and at the end of the exposure period
. A dissecting micro-
scope was used to assess survival of H . azteca .
Standard water chemistry characteristics were measured at
both the beginning and the end of each exposure period . Tem-
perature, pH, conductivity, and dissolved oxygen were mea-
sured using appropriate meters, and alkalinity and hardness
were measured (beginning of tests only) by titration as de-
scribed by American Public Health Association et al. [28] .
Samples from each treatment were analyzed to confirm sulfate
concentrations by ion chromatography at the Illinois Natural
History Survey Aquatic Chemistry Laboratory (Champaign,
IL, USA) .
All LC50s were calculated based on both measured sulfate
concentrations and measured specific conductivity values for
each test concentration using the Spcarman-Karber method
[29] . To increase confidence in LC5ns, three to five assays
1) 1 . Soucek
were conducted with each organism for each water quality
combination . This provided a stronger estimate of the mean
LC50 for a given set of water quality characteristics for each
species
. In all, 63 LC5ns were generated .
Influence of chloride on the toxicity of sodium sulfate
In these experiments, the toxicity of sulfate (with sodium
as the major cation) to H. azteca and C. duhia was measured
in freshwater solutions having nominal chloride concentrations
of 1 .9, 10, 15, 20, 25, 33 (H. azteca only), 100, 300, and 500
ntg CI/L . Chloride, as NaCI (CAS 7647-14-5, Fisher Scientific
Catalog AC42429-0010), was added at appropriate concentra-
tions to a solution with a hardness of approximately 100
mg/L (molar ratio of Ca:Mg
= 1.41 ; 2.33 in terms of mass) .
The Ca :Mg ratio was chosen because it is the median value
for water bodies sampled in Illinois (R . Mosher, Illinois En-
vironmental Protection Agency, Springfield, IL, USA . personal
communication)
. Whole carboys were made for each elevated
chloride level, and this water was used as both diluent and
control ; therefore, each concentration within a given test had
the same chloride concentration (i .e . . [Cl - ] did not change with
dilution) . The only parameters that varied within a particular
test were sodium, sulfate, and conductivity . At least three tests
were conducted for each hardness to provide a mean LC50
and standard deviation . Exposures were conducted using the
same laboratory and calculation methods described above.
After LC50s were calculated as described above, regression
analysis was conducted using 1MP® software [301 to determine
the relationship between chloride concentration and sulfate
LC50 for each species ; mean LC50s for each chloride con-
centration were used in these analyses . Because observation
of data scatter indicated two different trends were involved
depending on the chloride concentration range, two separate
analyses were conducted for each species : One for the range
of 5 (1 .9 mg/L nominal concentration) to 25 mg Cl/L and one
for the range of 25 to 500 mg CI/L . Then, multiple regression
analysis with covariance was conducted for the same data
ranges using all individual data points to generate an equation
for both species, and to determine if the curves were signifi-
cantly different for the two species .
Influence of hardness on the toxicity of sodium sulfate
In these experiments, the toxicity of sulfate (with sodium
as the major cation) to H. azteca was tested in six freshwater
solutions having nominal hardness values of <100, 200, 300,
400 . 500, and 600 mg/L (as CaCO,) . Hardness was increased
by adding enough CaSO, (CAS 7778-18-9) and MgSO, (CAS
7487-88-9), at a set molar ratio (Ca :Mg = 1 .41 ; 2 .33 in terms
of mass), to achieve the nominal hardness . Measured hardness
values for all tests were similar to target nominal hardness
values (±2 .2%)
. A chloride concentration of 25 mg/L was used
for all tests investigating the effects of hardness on sodium
sulfate toxicity to H. azteca based on results from the above-
described tests investigating the effects of chloride on sodium
sulfate toxicity to H.
azteca and C dubia . Whole carboys
were made for each elevated hardness level, and this water
was used as both diluent and control ; therefore, each concen-
tration within a given test had the same hardness (i .e ., [Ca2']
and [Mg") did not change with dilution) . The only parameters
that varied within a particular test were sodium, sulfate, and
conductivity . At least three tests were conducted for each hard-
ness to provide a mean LC50 and standard deviation
. Expo-
sures were conducted using the same laboratory and calcu-
* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

 
Water quality effects on sulfate toxicity
lation methods described above . The LC50s for IL azteca were
compared to previously generated LC50s for C . dubia [ 14],
which were conducted in solutions having a Ca :Mg molar ratio
of 0.88 and [CI-] of 5 mg/L .
After LC50s were calculated as described above, regression
analysis was conducted using 7MPx software [30] to determine
the relationship between hardness and sulfate LC50 for each
species . Mean LC50s for each hardness were used in these
analyses . Then, multiple regression analysis with covariance
was conducted for the same data ranges using all individual
data points to generate an equation for both species and to
determine if the curves were significantly different for the two
species .
Relationship between sulfate LCSOs and conductivity
LC50s
To investigate variability in conductivity at sulfate LC50
concentrations, linear regression analysis was used, and C .
dubia data from Soucek and Kennedy [14] were included in
the analyses .
Comparison of test results with SIR model predictions
To compare results from the present study to toxicity pre-
dictions generated by the STR model [22] . nominal concen-
trations of all constituent ions (except HI and OH - , which are
not required by the model) were calculated at observed mean
sulfate LC50s for CC dubia in each test solution type (CI- _
x, hardness = y, and Ca :Mg =
z) .
The model does not predict
toxicity to H
. azteca
. Ions required by the model are Ca",
Mg", Na', K - , CI - , HCO, and SO' - . These calculations were
possible because adding known salt concentrations to deion-
ized water generated all test solutions . The average of the
absolute value of % difference between nominal and measured
sulfate concentrations was 2 .082% .
The model output includes equivalents of cations and an-
ions and requires that, to have confidence in model output, the
difference between the two be less than 15% [22] . The average
(±standard deviation) % difference between cations and an-
ions for inputs was 0 .09 (±0 .01)%, indicating excellent agree-
ment between cation and anion equivalents . Other model out-
puts included calculated TDS, a NUMCAT value that estimates
effective number of cations, LC50 in terms of % of solution,
and % survival in 100% of solution . To examine the predictive
ability of the STR model over the range of solutions tested,
we created scatter plots of predicted % survival versus either
chloride concentration or water hardness as appropriate for
each species tested . Because all of our input values were ion
concentrations calculated at experimentally observed sulfate
LC50s, the observed % survival was always 50% . Observed
survival data were plotted as a horizontal line for compar-
ison to STR-predicted data.
RESULTS
Influence of chloride on the toxicity of sodium sulfate
Chloride had variable effects on sodium sulfate toxicity to
C. dubia and H. azteca over the range of 5 to 500 mg
Cl- /L . For H. azteca, two different linear trends were observed
depending on the chloride range (Fig . IA and B) . Increasing
chloride concentration from 5 to 25 mg/L resulted in increasing
SO; - LC50s (r2 = 0.8503, p = 0.0258) for H . azteca
(Fig .
IA), although for C . dubia, the slope was not significantly
different from zero over this chloride concentration range (r2
= 0
.4906, p = 0
.1877) . In addition, the LC50s for C
.
dubia
loo) A
1- 13 86Ar a 2085.1
,'=0.49%,,p-571877 f
f
c
IAq
V I(YNI
Chlnrile Oncht .1
'2 X0.1, . 2530 .7
09493,p =0,025 7,
y= .0 .8/5+19(4
.4
r t -n .A75.p
0.0105
n 7t. name
too
Environ. Toxicoi. Chere . 26, 2007
775
1011
3110
cool
Chloride onen .)
25
Figmg/L
. I .
Influence
and (B) 25
of
to
chloride
500 mg/L,
concentration
on toxicity
over
of
two
sodium
ranges,
sulfate
(A) 5
toto
Ceriodaphnia dubia and Hyalella azteca . Hardness was approxi-
mately
for the
100tests
.
mg/lat
5
for
mg
all
Cl-tests
/L (0and
.88)C.
.Mg
LC50
molar
= Median
ratios
lethal
were 1,41
concentra-except
tion .
were higher than those for H. azteca for each chloride con-
centration over this range . When using a combined data set
of individual test LC50s for C. dubia and H. azteca over this
chloride range and at hardness = 100 (n = 33) . in a simple
linear regression analysis with covariance (with species as a
treatment effect and chloride concentration as continuous ef-
fect) . a strong positive relationship was observed (r 1 = 0 .7900,
p < 0.0001) with both the chloride and treatment (species)
effects being significant (p < 0 .0001 ; Table 1) .
Although a positive relationship between chloride concen-
tration and SO LC50 was observed for H. azteca over the
range of 5 to 25 tug Cl - /L, a significantly negative trend (r'
= 0.875, p = 0.0195) was observed over the range of 25 to
500 mg CI - /L . An even stronger negative relationship (r' _
0
.9493,
p = 0.0257) was observed for C . dubia over the same
chloride range . When using the combined data set of individual
test LC50s for C . dubia and H. azteca over this chloride range
and at hardness = 100 (n = 30), in a multiple linear regression
analysis with covariance as described above, a negative re-
lationship was observed (r' = 0 .6539, p < 0 .000 1), with both
the chloride and treatment (species) effects being significant
(p < 0.0001 and p = 0.0003, respectively ; Table 1) .
Effects of hardness on toxicity of sulfate to Hyalella at
chloride = 25 mg/L
A strong linear trend of decreased sulfate toxicity with
increased hardness (r2
= 0 .7092, p = 0 .0354) was observed
for H. azteca (Fig . 2) . The LC50 values increased from less
than 1,900 mg/L at hardness = 100 mg/L, to greater than 4,000
50(1
WO
* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

 
776
Environ . Toricol .
Chem .
26, 2007
Table I . Results of multiple regression analysis with covariance for
three different subsets of data . Individual median lethal concentrations
were used as data points . Data for both species were included in
analysis
Tenn
Estimate
ICI - ] range = S to 25 nag/I, ; hardness approximately 100 mg/I
r= = 07900, u = 33
au
201q
15(5
1000
v=3.6716,41527.1
r~=0.107.p=0.0354
I(vdAi, ,vI>
P
mg/L at a hardness of 500 mg/L . The mean LC50 value at
600-mg/h hardness was lower than that at 500-mg/L hardness .
It remains unclear how the trend will continue with increasing
hardness above 600 mg/I
.
. When using the combined data set
of individual test LC50s for C. dubia and H. azreca over this
hardness range (n = 38) in a multiple linear regression analysis
with covariance as described above, a positive relationship was
observed (r' = 0.5177 . p < 0.0001 ; Table 1) . The hardness
effect was observed to be significant (p < 0 .0001), but the
treatment (species) effect was not (p = 0 .9046 ; Table 1) .
Relationship between sulfate LC50s and conductivity
LC50s
Conductivity LC50s ranged from 1,071 to 8,449 µmhos/
cm, and LC50s based on sulfate ranged from 512 to 4,345 mg
SO;-
/L (Fig
. 3)
. When including all data from the present study
and C. dubia data from Soucek et al . [14], there was a strong
positive relationship between sulfate LC50s and conductivity
C ,Llhta
o rt. a.mn0
0
100
200
7(
.500
50)
015)
700
Fig. 2. Influence of hardness on toxicity of sulfate to Hyatella azre
(a
and Ceriodaphnia dubia The C. duhta data arc from Soucek et al .
[141 . Concentration for all H
. azreca tests was approximately 25
mg/L, and Ca:Mg molar ratio was 1 .41 . LC50 = Median lethal con-
centration .
9000
soot)
7000
6000
I
G E 40(X1
v
9X0-
2(11x)
INK)
U. Jahia
o H . avleua
D .1 . Soucek
1 (101
20110
)
4(551
5000
Sulfate at LC50mg/L)
Fig . 3 . Relationship between median lethal concentration (LC50) in
terms of sulfate (mg/L) and in terms of conductivity (µmhos/cm) for
tests with flyalel/a aorta and Ceriodaphnia dubia. In addition to
the 63 new tests generated for the present study, 19 tests from Soucek
et al . [141 with C, dubia were included . Hardness values ranged from
100 to 600 mg/L and chloride ranged from 5 to 500 mg/L . Points
enclosed by the solid oval were conducted at 30(1 mg CI
- /IL and those
in the dashed oval at 5017 mg CI - H . (nominal concentrations) .
LC50s (r2 = 0.9077,
p < 0.0001 ; Fig . 3) . Twelve data points
enclosed in solid and dashed ovals in Figure 3 diverged from
the line farmed by the remaining points, suggesting sulfate
LC50s were lower than would be predicted by conductivity
LC50s
. These points were for tests with C . dubia and H. azteca
when nominal chloride concentrations were 300 mg/L (solid
oval) and 500 nag/L (dashed oval) .
Comparison of test results with STR model predictions
All ion concentrations used as input for the STR model
were concentrations at the observed mean sulfate LC50levels
for each test solution type (CI- = x, hardness = y, and Ca :
Mg = z), so observed percent survival in each case was 50% .
For tests with C . dubia in which hardness was fixed at ap-
proximately 100 mg/L and chloride varied from 5 to 500
mg/L, the STR model predicted % survival values ranging
from 69 .0 to 48
.4% (Fig . 4A) . Most predictions were greater
than 50%, and thus the model slightly underpredicted toxicity
in most cases .
For tests with C. dubia in which chloride was fixed at
approximately 25 mg/I, and hardness varied from 100 to 600
mg/L, the STR model predictions were highly variable, ranging
from 4 .1 to 82 .9% survival (Fig . 4B)
. Only the hardness =
100 mg/L prediction was greater than 50% (82 .9%) ; for hard-
ness values of 200 to 600 mg/L, toxicity was strongly over-
predicted, with % survival predictions of 4 .1 to 21 .8 .
DISCUSSION
Chloride had a strong but variable influence on acute sulfate
toxicity, depending on the species tested and the concentration
range . In multiple linear regression analyses with covariance,
including species as a variable, the species term was significant
over both the lower (5 to 25 mg
Cl-/L) and the higher (25 to
500 mg Cl -/L) chloride ranges
. The difference between the
two species was most striking over the 5- to 25-mg/L chloride
range where LC50s for H. azteca were strongly positively
correlated with chloride concentration and chloride did not
affect the response of C . dubia ( see Fig . 1) . Hyalella appears
Intercept
1,270 .23
<0 .0001
Chloride
35
.14
<0.0001
Species
Term
449 .68
Estimate
<0 .0001
P
ICI 1 range = 25 to 500 mg/L, hardness approximately 100 mg/L
r'=06539,5=30
Intercept
2,189 .48
<00001
Chloride
-1 .46
<0 .0001
Species
178 .92
0 .0003
Term
Estimate
p
Hardness range = 100 to 600, Cl = 25 mg/L
r' = 0.5177, n = 38
Intercept
1,969 .38
<0.0001
Hardness
3 .15
<0.0001
Species
-1038
0.9046
* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

 
Water quality effects on sulfate toxicity
Pigchloride
. 4 . Percent
(A) and
survival
hardness
of(B) Ceriodaphnia
as predicted
dubia
by the
at
salinity/toxicityvarying
levels of
trations
relationship
served
the horizontal
%
at
survival
nominal
line
(STR)
is
in
sulfate
model
observed
each
Points
case
median
result50%are
lethal
. Model
output
concentrations,
inputs
predicted
were ion
by
making
STR
concen-andob-
to require a minimal amount of chloride for effective osmo-
regulation at high sodium sulfate concentrations . Although
there are several different osmoregulatory strategies used by
freshwater organisms, most freshwater amphipods and daphnid
cladocerans regulate hypersonically with respect to the sur-
rounding medium, and this is achieved by active transport of
ions into the hemolymph [16-19] . The principal inorganic an-
ion of crustacean hemolymph is chloride, and it has been sug-
gested that low chloride concentrations may limit the distri-
bution
of at least one euryhaline amphipod (Carophium rurv-
is'pinum) in freshwaters [20] . Even among amphipods, there
is a wide range of sodium and chloride influx rates and in-
tegument permeabilities that determine osmoregulatory effec-
tiveness [20,21] ; therefore, it might not be surprising that the
responses of H
. azteca and
C. dubia to sodium sulfate were
quite different over the lower range of chloride concentrations .
Although Borgmann [31] suggested that, under low salinity
conditions, bromide was required but chloride was not needed
by H. azteca
for survival, growth, and reproduction, data from
the present study suggest that the chloride is quite important
in determining the effect of elevated levels of sodium sulfate
on that species . Laboratory deionized water and concentrated
sodium sulfate solutions were analyzed previously for bro-
mide, and levels were below detection limits
[26] .
Over the higher range of chloride concentrations (25-500
mg/L), a different trend was observed . Although the slopes of
Envirun . Toxirol. Chem
.
26, 2007 777
the lines for the two crustacean species were different, there
was a negative correlation between chloride concentration and
sulfate LC50 for both species . The trend was stronger for C.
dubia, with a more negative slope (-2 .2) compared to H.
azteca (-0 .875), although r2 values were high and relation-
ships statistically significant for both . These data suggest that,
over this range of chloride concentrations, chloride and sodium
sulfate toxicity are additive . Chloride LC50s (as NaCI) for C .
dubia generally range from 900 to 1,200 mg Cl - /L (e.g ., [12]),
and so the highest two chloride concentrations in the present
study were likely to cause some toxicity without sulfate pres-
ent .
Hardness had a strong influence on sulfate acute toxicity
that was similar for both crustacean species . A number of
studies have provided evidence that increasing hardness ame-
liorates toxicity of waters with high dissolved solids concen-
trations [7,9,12,15] and Soucek and Kennedy [14] showed
quantitatively that, in a sodium-dominated system, sulfate tox-
icity to C. duhia is reduced as hardness progressively increas-
es, albeit with diminishing returns in the hardness = 600
mg/L range . In the present study, the results of multiple linear
regression analyses indicated no difference between the sen-
sitivities of the two species over the hardness range of 100 to
600 mg/L as CaCO, . This was in contrast to the results of the
tests in which chloride was varied, where the two species had
different slopes over both ranges of chloride concentrations
examined . In addition, these results are notable because nearly
identical slopes were observed for the two species despite the
fact that the waters for tests conducted with C. dubia had a
different chloride concentration (5 mg/L) and Ca :Mg molar
ratio (0 .88) than those used for tests with H. azteca (25 mg
Cl -
/L and 1 .41 Ca :Mg molar ratio) . As an explanation for this
phenomenon of hardness ameliorating sulfate toxicity, Soucek
and Kennedy [14] proposed that increased calcium concentra-
tions decrease the passive permeability of epithelial cells to
water and ions in various aquatic organisms [32,33], reducing
passive diffusion and the energy required to osmoregulate and
accounting for the decrease in toxicity . Calcium can mitigate
hydrogen ion toxicity to aquatic organisms by decreasing
membrane permeability to H* and stimulating active Na* up-
take ([see [34]) ; however, Ports and Fryer [35] found that
calcium had little effect on sodium loss in Daphnia magna .
Although data from the present study support this hypothesis,
other explanations are possible and empirical work is needed
to determine the mechanism behind the phenomenon .
In the present study, LC50s in terms of conductivity were
highly correlated with LC50s in terms of sulfate for both spe-
cies, except when extremely high chloride concentrations were
used (300 to 500 mg/L) . The plots of conductivity LC50s and
sulfate LC50s clearly illustrate the contention that knowledge
of the contribution of various major ions is critical to effec-
tively managing produced waters or effluents with high con-
centrations of dissolved solids
[2] . Not only did sulfate L.C50s
range from 512 to 4,345 mg/L, but conductivity LC50s ranged
from 1,071 to 8,449 µmhos/em . These wide ranges were ob-
served for just two species with relatively similar sensitivities .
Clearly, any attempt at water quality standard development,
whether based on TDS, conductivity, sodium, or sulfate,
should incorporate the fact that the water quality parameters
like hardness and chloride strongly regulate the toxicity of
high TDS solutions . Finally, the conductivity/sulfate plots pro-
vide further evidence that chloride and sulfate toxicity are
additive . When chloride was less than or equal to 100 mg/L,
m)
80
0 70
r
2 ts)
50
40
otrxerved F_aurv,v,,l
20
Il0
200
300
400
500
ran
I0)
Chloride
tang/L,
B
90
70
90
a0
observed % survisat
t 70
'0
0
Ion
ho
300...
400 . .
500
900
700
Oatdncs,
one/1.t
* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

 
778
Environ
. Toxicol . Chew . 26 . 2007
sulfate toxicity was strictly related to conductivity
; however,
when 300 and 500 mg Cl-/L
solutions were tested, sulfate
LC50s were lower than predicted by LC50s based on con-
ductivity.
When chloride was variable and hardness fixed at approx-
imately 100 mg/L, the STR model was relatively accurate in
predicting toxicity to C. dubia ; predicted survival ranged from
48 to 69%, and observed survival was 50% in each case be-
cause calculated ion concentrations at observed sulfate LC50
were used as inputs . With one exception (48%), the model
underpredicted toxicity for this data range . This might he be-
cause the STR model largely is based on the results of fed
tests, which the authors acknowledged had a small influence
on test results [12] . However, Soucek ([36] ; h ttp ://www .pea .
state .ten
.us/news/eaw/buffalolake-item23 .pdf) compared 48-h
sulfate 1-C50s in unfed tests using moderately hard, reconsti-
tuted water [23] and reformulated moderately hard reconsti-
tuted water [25] as diluents with 48-h sulfate LC50s obtained
from fed, 7-d chronic tests in the same two diluents . In both
cases
. average LC50s for unfed tests were significantly lower
than those in fed tests
. This factor alone might explain the
discrepancy between predicted and observed results for C .
dubia for these tests .
When chloride was held constant (5 mg/L) and hardness
was varied from 100 to 600 mg/L, the STR model was rela-
tively inaccurate in predicting toxicity to C. dubia, with a trend
of underprediction at hardness = 100 ing/L, followed by in-
creasing degrees of overprediction at hardness = 200 to 600
mg/L . This finding is in agreement with Kennedy et a]
. [15],
who found that the STR model ovetpredicted toxicity to C.
dubia in sodium sulfate-dominated coal-processing effluents
with hardness values in the 700- to 800-mg/L range . The pres-
ent study suggests that the STR
model does not account for
the protective effect of hardness on major ion/TDS toxicity
;
however, because of the presence of a pattern in the inaccuracy,
data from the present study might he useful in improving the
model .
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, chloride had a strong but variable influence
on the acute toxicity of sulfate, depending on the species tested
and the concentration range . Over the 5- to 25-mg/L chloride
range, mortality of H . azteca decreased with increased chloride
concentration and chloride did not affect the response of C .
dubia .
The opposite trend was observed over the higher range
of chloride concentrations (25-500 mg/L) where increasing
chloride concentrations resulted in increased mortality at given
sulfate concentrations for both species . Hardness had a strong
influence on sulfate acute toxicity that was similar for both
crustacean species, and nearly identical LC50/hardness slopes
were observed for the two species despite the fact that test
waters for the two species had different chloride concentrations
and Ca: Mg ratios . The LC50s in terms of conductivity were
highly correlated with LC50s in terms of sulfate for both spe-
cies . The wide range of values for both conductivity and sulfate
LC50s suggests that single-value water quality standards for
TDS, conductivity, sodium, or sulfate are not practical, and
the fact that water quality parameters like hardness and chlo-
ride strongly regulate the toxicity of high TDS solutions should
he incorporated into standard development . In addition, both
the sulfate LC50/chloride plots and the conductivity/sulfate
plots provided evidence that chloride and sulfate toxicity are
additive. The STR model predicted toxicity to C . dubia rel-
D .J- Soucek
atively accurately when chloride was variable and hardness
fixed at approximately 100 mg/L; however, the model does
not account for the protective effect of hardness on major ion/
TDS toxicity . Data from the present study would be a useful
incorporation to the STR model .
Acknowledgement-The present study was funded by the U
.S . En-
vironmental Protection Agency grant CP96543701-0 . Thanks to C .
Stephan of the U.S . EPA and A . Haldeman and J . Sandberger of the
Illinois Natural History Survey
.
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24 . U .S . Environmental Protection Agency . 2000. Methods for mea-
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. American Public Health Association, American Water Works As-
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32 . Lucn C, Flik G . 1999
. Na'-R`-ATPase and Na'/Ca"' exchange
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33 . Pic P, Maetz J . 1981 . Role of external calcium in sodium and
chloride transport in the gills of seawater-adapted Mugil capim .
J Camp Physiol B 141 :511-521 .
34 . Havas M, Advokaat E . 1995 . Can sodium regulation he used to
predict the relative acid-sensitivity of various life-stages and dii-
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870 .
35 . Potts WTW, Fryer G . 1979 . The effects of pH and salt content
on sodium balance in Daphnia magna and Acanlholeberis car-
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36 . Soucek DJ . 2006 . Effects of water quality on acute and chronic
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Protection Agency, Chicago, IL .
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EXHIBIT
3
* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

 
Ecotoxicology (2007) 16:317-325
DOI 10 .1007/s10646-007-0133- 5
Bioenergetic effects of sodium sulfate on the freshwater
crustacean, Ceriodaphnia dubia
David J . Soucek
Accepted : 10 January 2007 /Published online: 13 March 2007
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007
Abstract
I tested the hypothesis that if sodium sulfate
alters the bioenergetics of Ceriodaphnia
dubia, con-
centrations that cause reduced fecundity in the short
(7-day) and long (5 generations) term should also cause
changes in feeding rate and/or metabolism, measured
as oxygen consumption . In addition, to test the
hypothesis that an altered bioenergetic level caused
by sodium sulfate exposure will affect the response of
that organism to another toxicant, I measured the
acute toxicity of phenol to C. dubia in the presence and
absence of both food and sodium sulfate . Sodium
sulfate reduced the filter-feeding rate of C
.
dubia,
which was associated with significantly reduced oxygen
consumption . This decreased energy level appeared to
result in a consistent but decreased level of fecundity
over a number of generations and the reproductive
impairment was dose-dependent . These effects
occurred at concentrations much lower than those at
which acute (mortality) effects have been observed, a
finding that may have regulatory implications . In
addition, whereas phenol toxicity to C. dubia
was
exacerbated by the addition of food, increased phenol
toxicity, likely induced by an increase in filtering or
metabolic rate due to food addition, was negated when
sodium sulfate was added to the test medium .
Keywords Sodium sulfate - Fecundity Respiration
Feeding rate Ceriodaphnia dubia
Division
D . J. Soucek
of Biodiversity
(G_a)
and Ecological Entomology, Illinois
Natural History Survey, 1816 South Oak St., Champaign, IL
61820, USA
c-mail : d-soucek@inhs
.uiuc .edu
Introduction
While a wealth of literature exists on the physiological
effects observed in organisms exposed to changes in
salinity when sodium and chloride are the dominant
ions, i.e.,
seawater
(e.g.,
Aarset and Aunaas 1990 ;
Amer and Koivisto 1993 ; Cowgill and Milazzo 1990 ;
Guerin and Stickle 1992; Richmond and Woodin 1999),
only recently has toxicity of effluents dominated by
other "major ions" (particularly sodium and sulfate) in
freshwater systems received increasing attention
(Goodfellow et al
. 2000) . Common sources of effluents
with elevated total dissolved solids (TDS), which in
freshwater is essentially the sum of the concentrations
of all common ions, include reverse osmosis systems,
pH modifications of waste water, agricultural runoff,
gas and oil production, and coal or metal mining
operations (Goodfellow et al . 2000). Sodium and
sulfate are two of the most common dominant ions in
effluents associated with the coal industry, and the fact
that toxicity of TDS in general and sodium sulfate in
particular is dependent on characteristics like hardness,
number of major cations, and chloride concentration of
a water or effluent has been well established (e.g.,
Kennedy et al . 2005 ; Mount et al . 1997 ; Soucek and
Kennedy 2005) .
Despite the increasing interest in acute sodium
sulfate toxicity, few studies have documented chronic
or sub-lethal effects of exposure to sulfate dominated
effluents (Chapman et al . 2000; Kennedy et al . 2004,
2005) . The purpose of this study was to test the
hypothesis that if sodium sulfate alters the bioenerget-
ics of Ceriodaphnia dubia, concentrations that cause
reduced fecundity should also result in changes in
feeding rate and/or metabolism . Bioenergetic models
Springer
* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

 
318
vary, but most often include a growth or reproduction
endpoint (P) that is influenced by energy intake or
consumption (C),
one or more respiration or metabolic
rates (R),
and excretion/egestion rates (E) according to
the following basic formula : P = C-R-E (e.g., Hayes
et a]
. 2000; McNaught 1989) . While metabolic end-
points like oxygen consumption, ammonia excretion,
and energy substrate utilization (O
:N ratio) have been
investigated in numerous studies with invertebrates,
particularly with respect to starvation or nutritional
status (e .g., Mayzaud and Conover 1988
; Pillai and
Diwan 2002
; Snow and Williams 1971), bioenergetic
based studies of cladoceran responses to contaminants
are rare (Arner and Koivisto 1993 ; Bridgham 1988 ;
McNaught 1989) . To test the above stated hypothesis, I
determined the short (7-day) and long-term (5 gener-
ations) effects of sodium sulfate on C. dubia fecundity,
and measured the effects of sodium sulfate on filter-
feeding and oxygen consumption rates . In addition, the
effects of the presence of food during testing on acute
toxicity of sodium sulfate were evaluated . Based on
results of the first two objectives, I also tested the
hypothesis that if sodium sulfate alters the bioenergetic
state of C. dubia,
it will influence the response of that
organism to another toxicant with a different mode of
action, in this case, phenol . Effects of sodium sulfate on
C. dubia
excretion/egestion rates were not measured in
this study.
Materials and methods
General culturing and water chemistry
The cladoceran, Ceriodaphnia dubia,
was selected as a
test organism because of its ubiquitous use in the
United States for regulatory permit testing, its greater
sensitivity to contaminants compared to other cladoc-
erans, and the large base of data available on its
response to other contaminants (see http://cfpub .epa.
gov/ecotox/) . Previous studies have demonstrated the
repeatability of its response to sodium sulfate (Soucek
and Kennedy 2005 ; Kennedy et al . 2005) . Organisms
were initially obtained from a commercial source
(Aquatic
Research Organisms, Hampton, NH,
www.holidayjunction
.com/aro/) , and then a continuous
culture of the organisms initiated from a single female
was maintained in the laboratory for at least 1 year
prior to commencement of testing . The organism was
cultured in moderately hard, reconstituted water
(MHRW) according to U .S
. EPA methods (2002) .
Details on culturing conditions and response to refer-
ence toxicants may be found in Soucek and Kennedy
i Springer
(2005)
. Over the course of the several months during
which these experiments were conducted, average pH,
conductivity, alkalinity, and hardness for culture water
was 8.0 ± 0.1,
300 ± 7 pS/cm, 62 ± 2 mg/I as CaCO3,
and 92 ± 2 mg/I as CaCO 3, respectively.
For toxicity testing, a pure (99%) grade of anhy-
drous sodium sulfate (Na
2SO4, CAS No . 7757-82-6)
was obtained from Fisher Scientific (Pittsburgh, PA,
USA)
. Previous experiments indicated that the salts
and deionized water sources used for experiments had
low to undetectable levels of trace metal contaminants
(see Soucek and Kennedy 2005)
. Standard water
chemistry characteristics, including temperature, pH,
conductivity, dissolved oxygen, alkalinity and hard-
ness, were measured at both the beginning and the
end of each exposure period according to standard
methods (American Public Health Association et al .
1998)
. With the exception of conductivity, the addition
of sodium sulfate to test solutions had a negligible
effect on the above listed water quality parameters .
Samples from each experimental treatment were
analyzed to confirm sulfate concentrations by ion
chromatography at the Illinois Natural History Survey
Aquatic Chemistry Laboratory, Champaign, IL, USA
.
For longer-term experiments like culturing of C. dubia
in water with 1,000 mg
S042_/I
for five generations,
conductivity was measured daily in culture water and
sulfate concentration was calculated based on the
following formula for sulfate in MHRW obtained in
previous studies: [SO;-] = (0.503
x eonductivity(pS/
cm)) -
135.04, R2 =0.9949, n = 59 (Soucek unpub-
lished data).
Three-brood survival/reproduction bioassays
To generate dose-response curves illustrating the
effects of sodium sulfate on C
. dubia fecundity or
reproduction, 7-day, three-brood chronic bioassays
were conducted according to guidelines described in
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) E
1295-01 (2002a)
. Briefly, one <24-h-old neonate was
placed in each of ten replicate 50-m1 beakers for each
of six sulfate concentrations, including a control (no
additional sulfate added) . Treatments were comprised
of a 75% dilution series (i .e.,
the highest concentration
was serially diluted by 25%)
. Each test organism was
fed at a rate identical to that used for culturing
(U.S.
EPA 2002), and test solutions were renewed daily .
Neonates produced by the first generation test organ-
isms (first brood usually occurred on the third or fourth
day of the test) were counted daily and the tests lasted
until at least 60% of test organisms had produced three
broods (7 days in each case) . Endpoints included the
D .J . Soucek
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Bioenergetic Effects of Sodium Sulfate on C . dubia
number of young produced by each first generation
C. dubia,
and survival of first generation C. dubia .
Tests were conducted in two different dilution waters :
MHRW and a "reformulated MHRW" or RMHRW
(Smith et al
. 1997) which had a similar hardness and
pH but different Ca
:Mg ratio and chloride concentra-
tion
. RMHRW was tested in addition to MHRW
because of previous studies indicating that sulfate
toxicity was reduced in this water (Soucek and
Kennedy 2005) . Three tests were conducted in each
water type to obtain average values for percent
survival and reproduction. For survival, Fisher's Exact
test was used to compare treatments to controls and for
reproduction Dunnet's test was used (WEST, Inc . and
Gulley 1996) .
An additional benefit of conducting 7-day chronic
bioassays is that calculation of 48-h LC50s (lethal
concentration to 50% of a sample population) from
these data allowed a comparison of acute toxicity when
tests are fed to previously generated data for the same
two diluents in unfed tests (Soucek and Kennedy
2005)
. Survival was evaluated for each chronic test at
48 h and LC50s were calculated using the Spearman-
Karber method (Hamilton et al . 1977)
. Mean 48-h
LC50s for fed tests in MHRW and RMHRW were
compared to mean LC50s for unfed tests in the same
waters with ANOVA and Student's T-test for post-hoc
comparisons using JMP ® software (Sall and Lehman
1996) .
Long-term measurement of reproductive rate
To investigate the long-term, generational effects of
exposure to sodium sulfate on C. dubia fecundity,
organisms were cultured according to U . S. EPA
(2002) methods with the only modification being that
the culture water contained elevated sodium sulfate .
The concentration of 1,000 mg SO ;-/I was selected
because of its proximity to reproductive impairment
thresholds generated in the three-brood chronic bio-
assays in MHRW
. Control (MHRW) and treatment
(MHRW + 1,000 mg SO4-/I) cultures were initiated
simultaneously using the same cohort of neonates
produced by females cultured in MHRW . One adult
organism was held in each of twenty 50-m1 culture
beakers, and neonates were counted and removed
daily
. Neonates to start a new generation were selected
from a female that had produced at least three broods
and had not reproduced on the previous day . After the
first generation, only neonates produced in MHRW
were used to start a new MHRW culture and likewise
for the MHRW + 1,000 mg
S02_/1
treatment. Five
generations were cultured in each treatment (control,
319
elevated sulfate)
. The endpoint evaluated was the total
number of neonates produced per female after 8 days
(usually three or four broods per female) . Because
C . dubia
neonates are clones, there is dependence
between generations, thus the unit of measure was a
clonal line
. Therefore, a repeated-measures ANOVA
was used to test whether there was a difference
between the treatment and control, and if that differ-
ence varied from generation to generation (the time
component) .
Filter-feeding experiment
To determine the effects of sodium sulfate on C
. dubia
filter-feeding rates, a simple clearing experiment was
conducted
. MHRW was used as a control and
MHRW + 1,000 mg SO;-/l
was the exposure treat-
ment
. 50-m1 beakers were filled with 30 ml of each
test solution ; four replicates were used for each
treatment
. To each beaker, 1 .0 ml of the Pseudokirch-
neriella subcapitata solution used for daily feeding was
added, and the solution was thoroughly mixed by
stirring with a disposable transfer pipet . Next, eight
48-h-old C. dubia were added to each beaker
. Two
additional treatments in the experiment consisted of
the same two solutions prepared as described above
(four replicates each) with no organisms added
. After
24-h, all solutions were again thoroughly mixed and 3-
ml aliquots were removed from the center of each
beaker and placed in cuvettes for measurement of
light absorbance by chlorophyll (665 nm wavelength)
using a Uvikon XL dual-beam spectrophotometer
(BioTek Instruments, Wonooksi, VT)
. Absorbance
readings were fit into a previously calculated regres-
sion equation to determine concentration (dry mass
per unit volume) of algae present
. The difference in
algal concentration between the treatments with and
without organisms for a given test solution was used
as the amount of algae consumed by C. dubia .
Consumption data were expressed on a pg algae h-t
individual-1 basis. Treatment means were compared
with Student's T-test using JMP ® software (Sall and
Lehman 1996).
Oxygen consumption experiment
Oxygen consumption was measured according to
previously published methods (e .g.,
Correa et al .
1985
; Rockwood et al . 1990) by placing the test
organisms into biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)
bottles, and measuring change in dissolved oxygen
concentrations after 24 h
. MHRW was used as a
control and MHRW + 1,000 mg SO
;-/l was the
1 Springer
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320
exposure treatment . Solutions were poured into eight
replicate bottles for each treatment as well as three
additional bottles per treatment to which no organisms
would be added . Next, 4
.5 ml of the Pseudokirchneri-
ella subcapitata
solution used for daily feeding was
added to each bottle, and dissolved oxygen measure-
ments were made using an air-calibrated Yellow
Springs Instruments (RDP, Dayton, OH, USA) model
58 meter with a self-stirring BUD probe
. Thirty 48-h-
old C. dubia
then were added to each 300 ml BOD
bottle
. After 24 h, dissolved oxygen was measured
again in each replicate BOD bottle and the number of
surviving organisms recorded
. This exposure period
was chosen because it was the minimum period of
exposure in some previous studies with invertebrates
(Rockwood et al
. 1990), although other experimental
designs have used shorter exposure periods (e.g.,
Correa et al . 1985) . For each treatment, the average
change in oxygen concentration in bottles without
organisms was subtracted from the value for each
bottle containing organisms to correct for potential
differences in oxygen consumption rates not due to test
organisms . Oxygen consumption data were expressed
on a ltg
02
h-t individual - ' basis for C. dubia .
Treat-
ment means were compared with Student's T-test using
JMP® software (Sall and Lehman 1996)
.
Multiple chemical bioassay
To test the hypothesis that if sodium sulfate alters the
bioenergetic state of C . dubia, it will influence the
response of that organism to another toxicant with a
different mode of action, static, non-renewal acute
toxicity tests were conducted according to ASTM E
729-96 methods (2002b) with phenol as the second
toxicant
. Three test media were used for dilution water
and controls: MHRW with no food, MHRW with food
(0.45 ml of a Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata solution
per replicate beaker), and MHRW with food plus
1,000 mg SOQ/1
. Phenol LC50s were generated for
each media type
. Treatments were comprised of a 50%
dilution series of phenol with the highest concentration
being 25 mg/1
. Five phenol concentrations were tested
in addition to controls with four replicates tested per
concentration
. Percent survival in each replicate was
recorded at 24 h and at the end of the exposure period .
Four tests were conducted in each diluent type, and
then data for each diluent were combined
(n = 80
organisms per test concentration) for LC50 calculation .
LC50s with robust 95% confidence intervals were
calculated
using the Spearman-Karber method
(Hamilton et al . 1977) .
Springer
Results
Three-brood survival/reproduction bioassays
At the end of 7 days, average percent survival of
control C. dubia
(no sodium sulfate added) was 96% in
MHRW and 100% in RMHRW, and survival was high
(>80%) in all treatments in both diluents up to
-1,700 mg SO;-/I (Fig
. 1) . For RMHRW, high survival
(90%) was observed at -2,200 mng SO4 -/I as well .
Toxicity was greater in MHRW, which had an average
Least Observable Adverse Effects Concentrations
(LOAEC, defined as the lowest test concentration that
produced a statistically significant effect compared to
the control) of 2,216 mg SO
;-/l, whereas RMHRW had
a LOAEC of 3,000 mg So ,-/1 for survival . The mean 7-
day LC50 in MHRW was 2,049 mg SO4 -/I and in
RMHRW, it was 2,442 mg SO;- /I . In both cases, there
appeared to be a threshold response rather than an
incremental dose-related response .
Comparison of mean 48-h LC50s generated during
7-day chronic tests (fed tests) to those from previously
conducted unfed tests indicated that feeding had a
significant effect on acute toxicity of sodium sulfate to
C. dubia in both diluent types (Fig
. 2). The mean "fed"
LC50 in MHRW (2,446 mg SO4
-/1) was significantly
higher (p < 0 .05) than the respective mean "unfed"
LC50 (2,056 mg SO ;-/I), and in the RMHRW diluent
the mean "fed" LC50 of 3,065 mg SOQ-
/I was signif-
icantly higher than the mean "unfed" LC50 (2,527 mg
SO;- /I).
There was a dose-related response for reproduction
in both diluents, with increasing sodium sulfate causing
C. dubia to produce fewer neonates (Fig
. 3). In fact,
simple regression analysis indicated a significant neg-
ative linear relationship between sulfate concentration
and mean number of neonates per female for both
D .J . Soucek
than those for survival : 899 mg SO
;-/I for MHRW and
1,236 mg SO'4-/ l for RMHRW
. Using these regression
equations to calculate EC50s, values of 1,148 mg SO
;-/
1 and 1,458 mg SO4 -
/I were obtained for MHRW and
RMHRW, respectively .
Long-term measurement of reproductive rate
Organisms that either died due to technician error or
did not reproduce at all (two out of 100 individuals in
the MHRW and three out of 100 individuals in the
MHRW + 1,000 mg SO4-
/I treatment) were excluded
MHRW (y = -0
.0157x + 33 .71, R2 = 0.979) and
RMHRW (y = -0.0134x + 34.76,
R2 = 0.906) . The
LOAECs for reproduction were substantially
lower
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Bioenergetic Effects of Sodium Sulfate on C. dubia
120
100
40
20
0
0
0
500
1000
Fig . 1 Mean percent survival of
Ceriodaphnia dubia after 7 days sulfate concentrations
. MHRW = moderately hard reconstituted
at various sulfate concentrations in two different diluents
. Values
water, RMHRW = reformulated moderately hard reconstituted
shown are means (,standard deviation) for three bioassays . water
. LOAEC = least observable adverse effect concentration
Horizontal error bars are standard deviations for measured
Fig. 2 Mean (±standard
3500
deviation) 48-h median lethal
sulfate concentration (LC50)
in fed and unfed tests in two
3000
different diluents
. Different
capital letters indicate means
,4 ,
2500
are significantly different
(p < 0.05) .
g
2000-
MHRW = moderately hard
reconstituted water,
c
U
1500
RMHRW = reformulated
'~
moderately hard
u
1000
reconstituted water
r
500
Fig
. 3 Mean number of
40
neonates produced per
female Ceriodaphnia duhia
after 7 days at various sulfate
35 -
concentrations in two
different diluents . Values
30
shown are means (,standard
deviation) for three bioassays .
°' 25
Horizontal
standard deviations
error bars
forare
0
c
a
20
measured sulfate
concentrations .
x
C
MHRW = moderately hard
m 15
E
reconstituted water,
RMHRW = reformulated
10
moderately hard
reconstituted water .
5
LOAEC = least observable
adverse effect concentration
0
0
1500
2000
2500
sulfate (mg/L)
Dunfed
O fed
MHRW, mean LOAEC = 899 mg/L
O RMHRW, mean LOAEC = 1236 mg/L
1
T
1
500
MHRW
3000
Dilucnt
1000
1500
sulfate (mg/L)
3500
RMHRW
2000
321
2500
Springer
* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

 
322
from analyses .
Ceriodaphnia dubia cultured in
1,000 mg SOq-
/I produced significantly fewer neonates
than those cultured in MHRW according to the
repeated measures ANOVA (F=359
.464, DF = 36,
p < 0 .0001 for treatment effect, Fig
. 4) . In addition,
sulfate affected C. duhia
reproduction differently in
different generations as both the generation term
(F = 43.760, DF = 33, p < 0.0001)
and the genera-
tion x treatment interaction term (F= 4
.018,
DF = 33, p = 0
.0092) were significant . Separate pair-
wise analysis of treatment effects for each generation
also indicated that C. duhia
cultured in 1,000 mg
SO4'-/l
produced significantly fewer neonates after 8 days than
controls (p < 0
.0001 for each generation) . Combining
the five generations, the overall mean (±standard
deviation) number of neonates produced per female
after 8 days in MHRW was 62.2 ± 6.6 (n = 98), and for
the MHRW + 1,000 mg SO
;
A-
it was 50.6 ± 5.3
(n = 97) .
Fig. 4
Mean number
(±standard deviation)
of
neonates produced per
female Ceriodaphnia duhia
70-
(n = 19-20
per treatment per
65 -
generation) after 8 days over
>,
five generations in either
~- 60 -
controls
°O
(MHRW = moderately hard
reconstituted water) or
treatments exposed at to
1,000 mg SOa -/I
. Neonates
produced by generation one
were used for generation two
and so on . Asterisks indicate
means for a given generation
are significantly different
(p
< 0.05,
repeated measures
ANOVA and post-hoc
pairwise tests)
Fig
. 5 Mean (±standard
deviation) algal and oxygen
consumption rates (in pg per
hour per individual) for C.
duhia in controls (MHRW)
and exposed to
1,000 mg
SOa-11
consumption . P-values
shown are for Student's t-test
comparing control and
treatment means for each
endpoint separately
41 Springer
I
Filter-feeding and oxygen consumption
experiments
Solution type (with or without sodium sulfate) did not
have an effect on light absorbance (p = 0.2892)
or
change in oxygen concentration (p = 0
.0739) when no
organisms were added
. However, to further control for
potential differences in oxygen consumption rates not
due to test organisms, the average change in oxygen
concentration in bottles without organisms for a given
treatment was subtracted from the value for each
bottle containing organisms for the same treatment
.
Significant differences were observed between treat-
ments for both algal and oxygen consumption (Fig
. 5) .
The ratio of algae to oxygen consumption (in terms of
fig/h-' individual-) was 2.10
for the controls, and
slightly higher (2
.65) for the sulfate exposed organisms .
This difference is attributable to the fact that while
exposure to 1,000 mg S0,2-/I
reduced feeding rate by
25%, it reduced the respiration rate by 41%
.
D .J . Soucck
2
MHRW
O algae, p = 0.0381
D oxygen, p = 0.0002
MHRW + 1000 S04
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Biocnergetic Effects of Sodium Sulfate on C. dubia
Multiple chemical bioassay
The presence or absence of food, and the presence or
absence of sulfate had strong effects on phenol toxicity
to C. dubia .
When combining data from four separate
tests (n = 80 individuals per test concentration), the
LC50 (lower and upper 95% confidence limits) in
MHRW with no food added was 4 .34 (3 .88-4 .85) mg
phenol/I, whereas when food was added to each
beaker, the phenol LC50 was 3 .29 mg/I (3
.04-3 .57) .
When both food and 1,000 mg S0
42-/I
were added to
MHRW, the phenol LC50 was 4.26 mg/I (3 .91-4
.65) .
Discussion
The mean 7-day sulfate LOAECs for C . dubia
survival
in MHRW and RMHRW (2,216 and 3,000 mg SO ;
respectively), compare well with other published val-
ues with sodium sulfate dominated effluents
. Kennedy
et al. (2005) collected effluent from a coal preparation
facility in Ohio, USA, and conducted 7-day chronic
tests with C.
dubia in both the actual effluent and a
laboratory prepared effluent meant to simulate the
field-collected effluent . Treatments were based on
conductivity (pS/cm) and survival LOAECs were in
the range of 4,500 to >6,000 pS/cm. These values
correspond to sulfate concentrations in the range of
2,100 to >2,800 mg SO4-/I according to the regression
equation used in this study generated with sodium
sulfate in MHRW
. However, effluents tested in the
Kennedy et al
. (2005) study contained low levels of
trace metals and aluminum, and had elevated hardness
(650-770 mg/I as CaCO
3), which is known to amelio-
rate sulfate toxicity (Soucek and Kennedy 2005) and
may change the SO4-/conductivity
relationship . While
the results are not directly comparable to those from
the present study because of the differences in ion
composition, survival data from the two studies fall
within the same approximate range
. Additionally,
results of previous work indicating that Ca:Mg
and
chloride concentration influence sulfate toxicity (Sou-
cek and Kennedy 2005) were supported by these
results, as toxicity was consistently lower in RMHRW
than in MHRW .
Comparison of C
. dubia survival results in 7-day
chronic tests to those in previously conducted unfed
48-h acute tests (Soucek and Kennedy 2005) suggests
that feeding organisms during sodium sulfate bioassays
improves survivorship
. The 48-h LC50s generated in
these fed tests were significantly higher than those
from unfed tests
. In fact, the 7-day LC50 for C. dubia in
MHRW during the present study was similar to the
323
mean unfed 48-h LC50 from the Soucek and Kennedy
(2005) study (2,049 and 2,050 mg SO ;-/l,
respectively) .
Similar trends were observed in RMHRW
. Pieters
et al- (2005) documented similar results with
Daphnia
magna exposed to fenvalerate
; comparing high and low
food treatments, effects of fenvalerate on survival and
reproduction were exacerbated by reduced food con-
centration. It is well known that food, dissolved organic
carbon, and other ligands can reduce availability and
toxicity of some metals (e.g., Paquin et al
. 2003), so
feeding is recommended against in acute toxicity
bioassays with most freshwater organisms (ASTM
20026) . However, sodium and sulfate are stable as
ions and unlikely to bind with the algal food used in
these tests
. Therefore, a more likely explanation for
the increased survival in fed tests in the present study is
that fed organisms have more energy to direct toward
ionoregulation than starved organisms .
Reproduction of C. dubia
was strongly influenced by
sodium sulfate in three-brood chronic tests
. Dose-
related, negative relationships between sulfate and
reproduction were observed in both diluents . The slope
for MHRW was nominally steeper than that for
RMHRW, which is consistent with previous findings
that increased Ca :Mg ratio and chloride concentration
reduces sodium sulfate toxicity to C . dubia (Soucek
and Kennedy 2005)
. While LOAECs for reproduction
were less than half the values for survival in this study,
organisms at the LOAEC concentrations still produced
an average of -20 neonates, or 63-70% of the means
for controls .
Kennedy et al
. (2004) observed reduced reproduc-
tion of C
. dubia at conductivities ranging from 3,254
to 4,530 tS/cm, while conductivities at LOAECs in
the present study ranged from 2,050 to 2,700 µS/cm
.
The disparity between the two studies may again be a
result of the fact that the field collected and mock
effluents from the Kennedy et al. (2004) study had
much higher hardnesses (650-770 mg/I as CaCO 3)
compared to those in the present study (90-100 mg/I
as CaCO3).
In this study, the EC50s in terms of mg
Na2SO4/1
were 1,566 and 2,070 for MHRW and
RMHRW, respectively
. Cowgill and Milazzo (1990)
conducted three-brood chronic tests with
C. dubia
using NaCl as a toxicant and obtained an EC50 of
1,794 mg NaCI/l (hardness of their diluent was 90-
110 mg/1)
. This value falls within the range observed
in the present study for Na
2SO4, suggesting that
sulfate and chloride salts of sodium have similar
effects on reproduction
. This is in contrast to the
observation of Mount et al
. (1997) that NaCl is more
toxic than Na
2SO4 in terms of 48-h LC50s (1,960 and
3,070 mg/I for the respective salts)
.
~] Springer
* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

 
324
Based on reproductive impairment results of the
three-brood chronic bioassays (LOAEC
in
MHRW = 899 mg SO ;-/l), the five-generation expo-
sure was conducted at a concentration of 1,000 mg
SO /1, and this concentration of sulfate had a signif-
icant and consistent effect on CC dubia
reproduction
relative to controls over the course of the five gener-
ations . While the generation and interaction terms
indicated that differences in reproduction between
controls and sulfate exposed organisms were different
from generation to generation, the actual percent
differences between controls and sulfate exposed only
ranged from 12.9 to 23.3 (mean ± SD = 18.4
± 3.7) .
The finding of significant generational differences was
likely due to the relatively high statistical power
(n = 19-20 per treatment per generation)
. The fact
that sulfate-exposed C. dubia
reproduced at a rela-
tively constant but significantly lower rate compared to
controls suggests a decrease in energy allocated to
reproduction due to increased osmoregulation require-
ments, an explanation also suggested by Amer and
Koivisto (1993) working with Daphnia magna in
various NaCl exposure levels .
If the observed decrease in reproductive rate in
C. dubia
exposed to sodium sulfate is due to changes in
energy allocation, one might expect to observe changes
in other
bioenergetic endpoints when similarly
exposed . That was the case in the present study, as
consumption of algae was significantly decreased when
exposed to sulfate, as was metabolic rate, measured as
oxygen consumption
. At the most basic level, following
the bioenergetic model of P = C-R-E, and holding
excretion constant because it was not measured in this
study, a decrease in both algal consumption (C) and
respiration (R) would result in reduced growth or
reproduction (P)
. Respiration and reproduction rates
in freshwater daphnids have been observed to decrease
in response to elevated NaCl (Arner and Koivisto
1993), and 2,2'-dichlorobiphenyl (Bridgham 1988),
although in the latter study, variable results were
obtained in two different respiration experiments
.
Temperature has also been documented to influence
respiration rates in Ceriodaphnia reticulata
(Gophen
1976)
. Both temperature and food concentration influ-
ence daphnid filter-feeding rates as well (Gophen 1976
;
Mourelatos and Lacroix 1990), and several chemicals,
including magnesium, nitrite, I,indane, and zinc have
been shown to reduce food consumption in daphnids
(see McNaught 1989) .
The results of this study imply that C. dubia
populations exposed to sodium sulfate would grow at
slower rates than unexposed populations
. Because this
organism is a low level consumer, this effect may
4) Springer
cascade to higher trophic levels
. However, the impli-
cations of reduced feeding rates observed due to
sodium sulfate exposure are not entirely negative
.
The results of phenol bioassays in the present study
indicated that phenol toxicity increased when food was
present, perhaps due to a higher metabolic rate and/or
a higher filtering rate because filter-feeding increases
with increased food concentration (Mourelatos and
Lacroix 1990) . However, addition of 1,000 mg SO;
-/1 to
the test medium, thereby reducing feeding rate,
negated the effect of food on phenol toxicity
.
Brix et al
. (2001) reported similar results when they
observed that increased sulfate concentrations caused
reduced acute toxicity of selenate to several freshwater
species including C. dubia,
and Hansen et al . (1993)
observed reduced bioconcentration of selenate in
Chironomus decorus and D . magna
at elevated sulfate
concentrations (up to 206 mg SO ;
-/1
for
D . magna and
up to 3,235 mg SO ; /l for C.
decorus. The suggested
mechanism was related to direct competition at the cell
uptake site since the two chemicals were structurally
similar, and much is known about the absorption
antagonism between selenate and sulfate (reviewed in
Hansen et al . 1993), but results from the present study
suggest that a sulfate induced lower filtering rate also
may be a contributing factor to reduced selenate
uptake and toxicity.
In conclusion, this study has shown that sodium
sulfate reduces filter-feeding rate in C
. dubia, which is
associated with, but not necessarily the cause of a
reduced metabolic rate, measured as oxygen con-
sumption
. This decreased energy level appears to
result in a consistent but decreased level of reproduc-
tive output over a number of generations and the
reproductive impairment is dose-dependent
. In addi-
tion, sodium sulfate toxicity appears to be reduced
when test organisms are fed, whereas phenol toxicity
to C. dubia is
exacerbated by the addition of food .
Increased phenol toxicity induced by a likely increase
in filtering or metabolic rate due to food addition, is
negated when sodium sulfate is added to the test
medium .
Acknowledgement This study was funded in part by the U .S .
Environmental Protection Agency Grant
#CP96543701-0 .
Thanks to Alex Haldeman and Jens Sandberger of the Illinois
Natural History Survey for technical assistance.
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Bioenergetic Effects of Sodium Sulfate on C dubia
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(1997) Statistical models to predict the toxicity of major ions
to Ceriodaphnia dubia, Daphnia magna, and Pimephales
promelas (fathead minnows) . Environ Toxicol Cheni
16 :2009-2019
Mourelatos S, Lacroix G (1990) In situ filtering rates of
Cladocera : effect of body length, temperature,
and food
concentration . Limnol Oceanogr 25 :1101-1111
Paquin PR, Farley K, Santore RC, Kavvadas CD, Mooney KG,
Winfield RP, Wit KB, DiToro DM (2003) Metals in aquatic
environments : a review of exposure, bioaccumulation, and
toxicity models
. Society of Environmental Toxicology and
Chemistry (SETAC), Pensacola, FL, USA
Pieters BJ, Paschke A, Reynaldi S, Kraak MHS, Admiraal W,
Liess M (2005) Influence of food limitation on the effects of
fenvalerate pulse exposure on the life history and popula-
tion growth rate of Daphnia magna . Environ Toxicol Chem
24 :2254-2259
Pillai BR, Diwan AD (2002) Effects of acute salinity stress on
oxygen consumption and ammonia excretion rates
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monoceros . J Crust Biol
22(l) :45-52
Richmond CE, Woodin SA (1999) Effect of salinity reduction on
oxygen consumption by larval estuarine invertebrates . Mar
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aluminum in soft water at low pH on oxygen consumption
by the dragonfly Libellula Julia
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Sall J, Lehman A (1996) JMP start statistics
. SAS Institute,
Duxbury Press, Belmont, CA, USA
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the freshwater amphipod, Hyalella azteca . Environ Toxicol
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* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

 
STATE OF ILLINOIS
)
COUNTY OF SANGAMON
Dorothy Gunn, Clerk
Pollution Control Board
100 West Randolph Street
Suite 11-500
Chicago, Illinois 60601
(OVERNIGHT MAIL)
Mathew Dunn
Illinois Attorney General's Office
Environmental Control Division
James R. Thompson Center
100 West Randolph Street
Chicago, Illinois 60601
(OVERNIGHT MAIL)
PROOF OF SERVICE
1, the undersigned, on oath state that I have served the attached Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency's Additional Information and Documents upon the persons to whom it is
directed, by placing a copy in an envelope addressed to :
ALSO SEE ATTACHED SERVICE LIST
(FIRST CLASS)
and mailing it from Springfield, Illinois on April 6, 2007, by U .S . Mail with sufficient postage
affixed.
SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN BEFORE ME
THIS 6m DAY OF APRIL 2007.
SS
PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
Marie E. Tipsord
Hearing Officer
Illinois Pollution Control Board
100 West Randolph, Suite 11-500
Chicago, Illinois 60601
(OVERNIGHT MAIL)
Jonathan Fun
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
One Natural Resources Way
Springfield, Illinois 62702-1271
(OVERNIGHT MAIL)
BRENDA
OFFICIAL
BOEHNER
SEAL
NOTARY PUBLIC, STATE OF ILLINOIS
'-:,
MY
•+
COMMISSION
44+ba+a+444444wwe
CWIRES 11
.32009
.•• a n .
. .
.
2
* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

 
http://www .ipcb
.state .il .us/Cool/External/casenotifyNew .asp?caseid=13086&notifytype=Notic e
4/6/2007
Printing Notice List . . . .
Party Name
Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal
Role
7800 Sears Tower
City & State
Chicago
Page 1 of 4
Phone/Fax
312/876-8000
Interested Party
233 South Wacker Drive
IL 60606-6404
312/876-7934
Elizabeth Leifel
Katten, Muchin &Zavis
525 West Monroe
Chicago
312/902-5200
Interested Party
Suite 1600
IL 60601-3693 312/902-1061
Nancy] . Rich, Esq .
Interested
U .S . Fish &
PartyWildlife
Service
4469-48th Avenue Court
IL
Rock
61201Island
309/793-5800
Mr . Mike Coffey
Stateside Associates
Interested Party
2300 Clarendon Blvd .
Suite 407
Arlington
VA 22201
t
Illinois Environmental Regulatory Group
Springfield
217/523-4942
Interested Party
3150 Roland Avenue
IL 62703
217/523-4948
Brenda Carter, Project Manager
Deirdre K . Hirner, Executive Director
Caterpillar Inc .
Peoria
309/675-4105
Interested Party
100 N .E
. Adams Street
IL 61629
309/675-5861
Bill Compton, Environmental Affairs
Illinois. Municipal-League
500 E . Capitol
Springfield
217/525-1220
Interested Party
P .O . Box 5180
IL 62705
217/525-7438
Kenneth Alderson
Abbott Laboratories
Dept . 590, Bldg . P-14
North Chicago
Interested Party
1401 Sheridan Road
IL 60064-4000
847/937-8935
Jeffrey Smith
Goodwin & Broms, Inc .
Springfield
217/698-0222
Interested Party
400 Bruns Lane
IL 62707
217/698-0422
Daniel 3
. Goodwin
Dept . of Commerce & Economic
Small Business Office
ODD~portunityInterested
Party
620 East Adams Street, Fifth
SpringfieldIL
62701
217/785-6162
Dan Wheeler
Barnes & Thornburg
Floor
1 North Wacker Drive
Chicago
312/357-1313
Interested Party
Suite 4400
IL 60606
312/759-5646
Fredric P . Andes
Thorn Creek Basin SanitarxD1 trot
Chicago
708/754-0525
Interested Party
700 West End Avenue
IL
Heights60411
708/754-3940
James L . Daugherty, District Manger
Interested
Exxon MobilePartyOil Corporation
1-55 & Arsenal Road East
IL
Channahon60410
815/521-7755
Bob Elvert
Metropolitan Water-Reclamation-District
of-Greater
Interested PartyChicago
100 East Erie
ChicagoIL
60611
312/751-6583
Ron Hill, Principal Assistant Attorney
Richard Lanyon, General Superintendent
Huff & Huff, Inc .
Interested Party
512 West Burlington Avenue
Suite 100
LaGrange
IL 60525
James E . Huff, P.E .
* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

 
http
://www .ipcb .state .il .us/Cool/External/casenotifyNew
.asp?caseid=13086&notifytype=Notic e
4/6/200 7
t'rinnng Notice List . . . .
Admiral Environmental Services, Inc .
Interested Party
2025 South Arlington Heights
Road Suite 103
Hee Hight
ightss
IL 60005-4141
rage G (n 4
Philip A . Twomey
American Bottoms RWTF
Interested Party
One American Bottoms Road
Sauget
IL 62201
Kay Anderson
Openlands Project
Interested Party
25 East Washington Street
Suite 1650
Chicago
IL 60602
Stacy Meyers
Fox Metro Water Reclamation District
Interested Party
682 State Route 31
Oswego
IL 60543
Mr . Gregg Buchner
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Interested Party
One Natural Resources Way
Springfield
IL 62702
William Richardson, Chief Legal Counsel
Mr
. Mike Branham
Scott Fo wler, Mines and Minerals
Joel Cross
Interested
Wheaton SanitaryParty
District
P .O . Box 626
W
IL
h eato
60189n
630/668-1515
Robert Clavel, Engineer-Manager
AmerenInterested ServicesParty
One
PO Box
Ameren
66149Plaza
MO
St . Louis63166
314.554.4908
Mr. Michael Bolinger
August Mack Environmental, Inc ..
Indianapolis (317) 579-
Interested Party
8007 Castleton Road
IN 46250
7400
Charles Schnurpel, Project Manager
Illinois
Interested
EPAParty
1021
PO Box
N .
19276Grand
Ave . East
SpringfieldIL
62794-9276
524-5951
Scott Twait
Prairie Rivers_ Network
Interested Party
809 South 5th Street
Champaign
IL 61820
Jean Flemma
Glynnis Collins
Beth Wentzel
Interested
Fox River
PartyWRD
P .O . Box 328
IL
Elgin60121
847-742-2068
Rick Manner, Engineer
Interested
E
nvi
ronmental
PartyLaw-&-Polic
Center
Suite
35 E .
1300Wacker
ChicagoIL
60601
312 795 3707
Albert Ettinger, Senior Staff Attorney
Midwest Generation
440 S . LaSalle Street
Chicago
(312) 583-
Interested Party
Suite 3500
IL 60605
6080
Mr . Bill Constantelos
Exxon
Interested
MobilParty
PO Box 874
JolietIL
60410
815-521-7755
Stacey Ford, NSR Coordinator
ECTInterested
Party
3701 NW 98th street
GainesvilleFL
32606
3523320444
Gary Dalbec
* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

 
h ttp://www .ipcb .state .il .us/Cool/External/casenotifyNew .asp?caseid=13086&notifytype=Notic e
4/6/2007
I'rintmg Notice List . . . .
Illinois Coal Association
Interested Party
1480 E . 1200th Street
Industry
IL 61440
Page i 014
Greg Arnett
Illinois-A meric an Water Co .
Interested Party
123 S .W . Washington Street
Peoria
IL 61602-1317
Dean Falkner, Chair, Illinois Section
Formosa Plastics
Interested Party
P .O . Box 27
Illiopolis
IL 62539
Ms. Kim Bennett
M RRI
Interested Party
P .O . Box 1642
Murphysboro
IL 62966
Mr . Ron Balch
John Tippy
Illinois Association of Wastewater
Agencies
241 N . Fifth Street
Springfield
Interested Party
IL 62701
Mr . William Cellini
Environmental Consulting and
Technology
3701 NW 98th Street
Gainsville
Interested Party
FL 32606
Gary Dalbec
Illinois Coal Association
Interested Party
P .O . Box 727
Harrisburg
IL 62946
Gerald DeNeal
Illinois Coal Association
Interested Party
8100 E . Main Street
Williamsville
IL 62693
Roger Dennison
Interested
Illinois Coal
PartyAssociation
212 S . Second St .
IL
Springfield62701
217-528-2092
Phil Gonet
Illinois Rural Water Association
Interested Party
P .O . Box 6049
Taylorville
IL 62568
Loy McCart
U.S . EPA
Interested Party
Region 5 (WT-15J)
77 West Jackson Blvd .
Chicago
IL 60604
Dave Pfeifer
Citclo Petroleum
Interested Party
135th Street & New Ave .
Lemont
IL 60439-3569
Brigette Postel
Bolten & Menk, Inc .
2730 Ford Street
Ames
Interested Party
P .O . Box 668
0668IA
50010-
Gregory Sindt
Illinois Natural History Survey
607 E . Peabody Drive
Champaign
Interested Party
IL 61820-6970
David Soucek
Rhodia Inc .
Interested Party
1101 Arnold Street
Chicago
Heights
IL 60411
Kirk Thompson
Akzo N obel
Interested Party
8201 West 47th Street
P .O . Box 1569
McCook
IL 60525
* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

 
Total number of participants : 59
bttp ://www.ipcb
.state .il .us/Cool/External/casenotifyNew
.asp?caseid=13086&notifytype=Notic e
4/6/2007
Printing Notice List . . . .
rage 4 01 4
George Yanku
Farmland Foods
Interested
Party
1220 N . 6th Street Road
Monmouth
IL 61462
Isaac Yoder
Farmland Foods
7501 N .W . Tiffany Springs
Interested Party
Parkway
Kansas City
MO 64153
Bud Ackerman
Viper Mine
Interested Party
8100 East Main Street
Williamsville
IL 62693
Kayla Primm
IDOT
Interested Party
2300 South Dirksen Parkway
IL
Springfield62764
217/785-4246
Steven Gobelman, Geologic/Waste Assessment Specialist
James Huff
Interested Party
915 Harger Road
Oak Brook
IL 60525
* * * * * PC #2 * * * * *

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