Assessment of the aquatic and terrestrial toxicity of five biodegradable polymers

Radiofrequency countermeasures (i.e., chaff) may be released by fighter jets during tactical countermeasures training. Chaff cartridges, pistons, and endcaps (i.e., chaff dispenser materials), all currently made of styrene, are also released into the environment. Accumulation of chaff dispenser materials in the environment is a concern of the Department of Defense. The US Navy is exploring the possibility of constructing degradable chaff dispenser components made of biodegradable polymers. Five polymers are being considered. Degradability and toxicity tests are two of several criteria being used to evaluate various available biodegradable options. Dissolution products from four of five polymers being considered were toxic to aquatic organisms with LC50s/LOELs ranging between 1.24 and 731.30 mg total organic concentration/L. Supernatant from dissolving a 90:10 polyester amide/polyvinyl alcohol copolymer in water for 24h inhibited shoot growth of Brassica rappa and Lepidium sativum. Since our results were obtained using fractions of saturated degradable polymer solutions (1 or 10 g/L), we conclude that the tested degradable polymers were of low toxicity to the seven aquatic organisms and two terrestrial plant species used in our assays. However, our characterization of the toxicity of these degradable polymers may not be applicable to all species or environmental situations. Information gained from these studies will be used for making decisions on which polymers should be used in the engineering of environmentally friendly chaff dispenser cartridges, pistons, and endcaps.