Single-dose and repeated-exposure toxicity of a complex wastewater from munitions manufacturing plants

The single-dose and repeated-exposure toxicity of a synthetic mixture of 30 nitrotoluene analogs, representative of a complex industrial wastewater termed condensate water, was evaluated in dogs, rats, and mice. The single-dose oral LD50s for the synthetic condensate water (CW) were 447 and 295 mg/kg in male and female rats, respectively. In the repeated-exposure studies, dogs were given 0, 0.05, 0.5, or 5 mg of CW per kilogram of body weight by capsule daily for 26 wk. Rats and mice received 0, 0.001, 0.01, or 0.1% of this mixture in their diet for 4 or 13 wk. Groups of each rodent species were set aside for 4 wk to assess recovery. The most notable findings were a compensatory anemia with reticulocytosis (severe in rats), Heinz body formation, and related blood cell abnormalities and hemosiderin in the spleen; pigmentation in the liver cells; atrophy and aspermia in the testes; hyperplasia and inflammation in the female reproductive organs; and neurotoxic signs at the high doses. Rats and mice also experienced food intake and body weight depression and exhibited some alterations in organ weights (spleen, testes, and liver). The findings were referable principally to the two major components 2,4,- and 2,6-dinitrotoluene, but the "no observable effects" levels were lower for the mixture.