Acute Toxicity of Fire-Control Chemicals to Rainbow Trout

Laboratory studies determined the 96-hour lethal concentration (LC50) for 13 chemicals on juvenile rainbow trout. The dataset includes toxicity rankings for three ammonia-based fire retardants, five surfactant-based foams, three nitrogenous chemicals, and two anionic surfactants. The study was conducted by the CEOS_EXTRA organization.

Use Cases

• Rank chemical toxicity by comparing 96-h LC50 values for 13 substances, including Fire-Trol LCA-F and Phos-Chek 259F.
• Model the lethal dose-response relationship for juvenile rainbow trout exposed to un-ionized ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite.
• Calculate required dilution factors (100-1,750-fold) to compare recommended application concentrations with lethal LC50 thresholds.
• Assess the primary toxic component in formulations by analyzing estimated total ammonia and NH3 concentrations at the LC50s of fire retardants.
• Compare the relative toxicity of reference surfactants (LAS and SDS) to surfactant-based fire-suppressant foams like FireFoam 103B.

Strengths

• Provides quantitative LC50 values for 13 distinct chemical formulations.
• Includes comparative toxicity rankings across four chemical categories (fire retardants, foams, nitrogenous chemicals, surfactants).
• Reports specific dilution factors required to reach nonlethal concentrations in streams.

Limitations

• Sample size (number of test organisms or replicates) is not specified.
• Data is limited to a single species (rainbow trout) in soft water conditions, limiting generalizability.
• Temporal coverage and specific study dates are unknown.

Provenance

Source

CEOS_EXTRA via NASA Earthdata.

Collection Method

Laboratory toxicity tests measuring acute lethal effects on juvenile rainbow trout.