Derivation of aquatic predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC) for 2,4-dichlorophenol: Comparing native species data with non-native species data

2,4-Dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) is known as an important chemical intermediate and an environmental endocrine disruptor. There is no paper dealing with the predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC) of 2,4-DCP, mainly due to shortage of chronic and site-specific toxicity data. In the present study, toxicity data was obtained from the tests using six Chinese native aquatic species. The HC5 (hazardous concentration for 5% of species) was derived based on the constructed species sensitivity distribution (SSD), which was compared with that derived from literature toxicity data of non-native species. For invertebrates, the survival no-observed effect concentrations (NOECs) were 0.05 and 1.00 mg L−1 for Macrobrachium superbum and Corbicula fluminea, respectively. NOECs based on fishes’ growth were 0.10, 0.20 and 0.40 mg L−1 for Mylopharyngodon piceus, Plagiognathops microlepis and Erythroculter ilishaeformis, respectively. For aquatic plant Soirodela polyrhiza, NOEC based on concentration of chlorophyll was 1.00 mg L−1. A final PNEC calculated using the SSD approach with a 50% certainty based on different taxa ranged between 0.008 and 0.045 mg L−1. There is no significant difference between HC5 derived from native and that from non-native taxa.

► Chronic toxicity data on 2,4-DCP based on native species from China was reported.
► The site-specific PNEC for 2,4-DCP was derived using species sensitivity distributions.
► A comparison was made between PNEC derived using native species and that using non-native species.
► There was no significant difference between native and non-native taxa for deriving HC5 for 2,4-DCP.