Ternary toxicological interactions of insecticides, herbicides, and a heavy metal on the earthworm Eisenia fetida

The combined toxicities of five insecticides (chlorpyrifos, avermectin, imidacloprid, λ-cyhalothrin, and phoxim), two herbicides (atrazine and butachlor), and a heavy metal (cadmium) have been examined using the acute toxicity test on the earthworm. With a concentration of 2.75 mg/kg being lethal for 50% of the organisms, imidacloprid exhibited the highest acute toxicity toward the earthworm Eisenia fetida. Toxicological interactions of these chemicals in ternary mixtures were studied using the combination-index (CI) equation method. Twenty-one ternary mixtures exhibited various interactive effects, in which 11 combinations showed synergistic effects, four led to dual synergistic/additive behaviors, one exhibited an additive effect, and five showed increasing antagonism within the entire range of effects. The CI method was compared with the classical models of concentration addition and independent action, and it was found that the CI method could accurately predict combined toxicity of the chemicals studied. The predicted synergism in the majority of the mixtures, especially at low-effect levels, might have implications in the real terrestrial environment.