Criteria for assessing the ecological risk of nonylphenol for aquatic life in Chinese surface fresh water

- The minimum sample size was 12 for acute and 13 for chronic NP toxicity.
- Both maximum and continuous concentration criteria were derived for NP.
- NP pollution presented a low to moderate risk in Chinese surface fresh waters.

The typical environmental endocrine disruptor nonylphenol is becoming an increasingly common pollutant in both fresh and salt water; it compromises the growth and development of many aquatic organisms. As yet, water quality criteria with respect to nonylphenol pollution have not been established in China. Here, the predicted “no effect concentration” of nonylphenol was derived from an analysis of species sensitivity distribution covering a range of species mainly native to China, as a means of quantifying the ecological risk of nonylphenol in surface fresh water. The resulting model, based on the log-logistic distribution, proved to be robust; the minimum sample sizes required for generating a stable estimate of HC5 were 12 for acute toxicity and 13 for chronic toxicity. The criteria maximum concentration and criteria continuous concentration were, respectively 18.49 μg L−1 and 1.85 μg L−1. Among the 24 sites surveyed, two were associated with a high ecological risk (risk quotient >1) and 12 with a moderate ecological risk (risk quotient >0.1). The potentially affected fraction ranged from 0.008% to 24.600%. The analysis provides a theoretical basis for both short- and long-term risk assessments with respect to nonylphenol, and also a means to quantify the risk to aquatic ecosystems.