Comparative acute toxicities of surfactants to aquatic invertebrates.

Investigations of the toxicity of surfactants to aquatic invertebrates have been limited primarily to determining the effects on a few species. In this study, the 48-hr LC50 values for three surfactants are reported for six species of aquatic invertebrates. The acute toxicities (LC50) for each surfactant (mg/liter) varied 159 to 580 X and were as follows: C11.8LAS (anionic), 1.7 (Dero sp.) to 270 (Asellus sp.); C14-15 alkylethoxylate (nonionic), 1.0 (Dugesia sp.) to 6.8 (Rhabditis sp.); CTAC (cationic), 0.1 (Gammarus sp.) to 58 (Asellus sp.). When compared to previously developed data, Daphnia magna was typically found to be the most sensitive of all species tested, including fish, to the surfactants.