Derivation of Australian tropical marine water quality criteria for the protection of aquatic life from adverse effects of petroleum hydrocarbons

The use of data on the water concentration of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) in hazard evaluation for marine biota is hindered by the lack of justified water quality criteria for TPH. Using ecotoxicology data for marine organisms and U.S. EPA guidelines (1985, 1994), numerical criteria for TPH were derived. Acute and chronic toxicity data for marine organisms exposed to water-soluble fractions of oil products were obtained from published materials and the author's investigations. Out of 310 data reviewed and sorted, 82 data for the test temperatures of 20–32°C were selected and analyzed. The genus mean acute values (GMAV) were calculated for 15 animal genera belonging to the phyla Chordata, Arthropoda, Mollusca, Annelida. Plant values were obtained for six species of the algae classes Diatom, Chlorophyta and Dinophyta. The GMAVs ranged from 0.2 to 13.1 mg/L TPH. The considerable variability of data was attributed to differences in toxicity test designs. The EC50 values were adjusted by taking into account the fact that average test concentrations drop during courses of static-renewal and static toxicity tests. These adjustments resulted in a GMAV range of 0.2–5.2 mg/L with acceptable intergeneric variability. The final acute value derived as the fifth percentile of the set of 15 GMAVs for animals was in the range of 0.168–0.198 mg/L for the triangular, logistic, and normal distribution models. The advisory water quality criterion (AWQC) derived from these values was 0.007 mg/L. According to the criterion definition, to protect warm water marine organisms from unacceptable effects, an ambient concentration of TPH must not exceed AWQC of 0.007 mg/L. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Environ Toxicol Water Qual 13: 273–284, 1998