Effects of dissolved organic matter on permethrin bioavailability to Daphnia species

Synthetic pyrethroids are widely used insecticides in both agricultural and urban environments. Recent studies show frequent appearances of pyrethroid residues in runoff effluents and sediments, which stimulated concerns over the potential ecotoxicological implications. Pyrethroids are known to have two contrasting characteristics, high aquatic toxicity and strong affinity for the solid phase, that may negate the actual toxicity in a multiphased system. This study evaluated the effect of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on the pyrethroid uptake by and acute toxicity to water-column invertebrates using permethrin as a model compound. During the bioassays, the freely dissolved permethrin concentration was simultaneously measured using poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) fibers as a biomimetic surrogate. The presence of DOM consistently decreased permethrin uptake and increased its LC(50). For instance, compared to the DOM-free treatment, the LC(50) of permethrin to Ceriodaphnia dubia in a pond water containing DOM at 10 mg L(-)(1) increased from 0.56 to 1.03 microg L(-)(1), whereas the bioaccumulation factor by Daphnia magna decreased by 56%. Permethrin accumulation on the PDMS fiber closely mimicked permethrin uptake by D. magna. Statistical analyses suggest that permethrin associated with DOM was completely unavailable to D. magna or C. dubia. The effect of DOM on permethrin bioavailability appeared to depend also on the source of the DOM. These results indicate that the inhibitory role of DOM should be considered in the development of toxicologically relevant water quality limits and in monitoring protocols for permethrin and other pyrethroids in runoff effluents and surface streams that ubiquitously contain DOM.