Physicochemical Factors Affecting Toxicity in Freshwater: Hardness, pH, andTemperature (Chapter 1)

摘要

A search of the literature for effects of hardness, pH, or temperature on thetoxicity of chemicals to freshwater organisms suggested that the amount of reliable and useful data is limited. Much of the disparity among results reported in the literature was caused by improperly designed tests. Thus, effects of modifying factors on toxicity should be interpreted within experiments and not between them. Hardness does not appear to affect the toxicity of organic chemicals, but metals are generally more toxic in waters of low hardness. Of the chemical characteristics of water, pH caused the greatest change in toxicity. Physicochemical ractors do not appear to affect toxicity per se, but do affect bioavailability and exposure.