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Nonylphenol Surfactants Found in Beluga Whales

Nonylphenol Surfactants
One very current example which underscores the need for less-toxic, naturally-derived cleaning compounds is that of nonylphenol ethoxylate (NPE).
Nonylphenol (NP) and nonylphenol ethoxylate (NPE) are high-volume chemicals that have been used for more than forty years as detergents, emulsifiers, wetting and dispersing agents.
Nonylphenol polyethoxylate containing products are used in many sectors, including textile processing, pulp and paper processing, paints, resins and protective coatings, oil and gas recovery, steel manufacturing, pest control products and power generation. They are in many institutional and domestic cleaners, degreasers and detergents.

NP & NPE Declared Toxic
Environment Canada recently pro-posed that both NP and NPE be considered toxic as defined in the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
In its assessment, which is open for public input until May 31st, 2000, the Canadian Government proposes that nonylphenol and its ethoxylates are entering the environment “in a quantity or concentration or under conditions that have or may have an immediate or long-term harmful effect on the environment or its biological diversity”.

NPEs in Municipal Effluents
Untreated municipal effluents can have high levels of NP and its biodegra-dation products nonylphenol ethoxylate (NP1EO) and nonylphenol diethoxylate (NP2EO), which may exceed thresholds for chronic toxicity for aquatic biota.
In one approach to estimating the risks of NP in waterways, an Estimated No Effect Value (ENEV) for NP was taken to be 1 mg/L for protection of aquatic biota, taking into account the uncertainty associated with species differences and extrapolation between laboratory and field studies.
Approx. 40% of the municipal waste water treatment plants measured in Canada have mean concentrations above 1 mg/L. Environment Canada concluded that NP may be at levels of concern to aquatic biota, particularly in areas immediately adjacent to industrial or municipal effluents. Farther down-stream, however, it still represents one of many chemicals in the environment.

Nonylphenol Found in Belugas
Environment Canada also concludes that NP and the lower ethoxylates and carboxylates are persistent in groundwater, and that NP can be moderately persistent in sediments. It appears to be persistent in landfills under anaerobic conditions. NP and NPEs are present at low concentrations in ambient air, water, soil, sediments and biota.
These chemicals have been found in fresh water, sediment, fish and beluga whale tissue, textile mill effluents, pulp and paper mill effluents, municipal waste water treatment plant influents, effluents and sludges, and soil to which municipal sludges had been applied.
Samples from beluga whales collected on the St. Lawrence River shore were analyzed for 4-nonylphenol and NP. 4-NP levels in all liver samples were below detection levels of 0.02 mg/g. However, three of five fat samples contained detectable NP concentrations (0.02–0.12 mg/g wet weight).

Aquatic Toxicity
The range of acute toxicity for NP is similar for different organisms: for ex-ample, fish (17–1400 µg/L), invertebrates (20–3000 µg/L) and algae (27–2500 µg/L). Chronic toxicity values (No-Observed-Effect Concentrations, or NOECs) for NP are as low as 6 µg/L in fish and 3.9 µg/L in invertebrates. NP and NPEs have been reported to cause a number of estrogenic responses in a variety of aquatic organisms. Chronic toxicity in aquatic biota can also be associated with metabolites of NPEs.

Biodegradability & Persistence
In general NPEs and NP are not readily biodegradable using standard test methods, although substantial bio-degradation will occur after a period of microbial acclimation. The intermediate and final products of metabolism are more persistent than the parent NPEs.
Primary biodegradation of higher-chain NPEs is generally faster than ultimate degradation of lower chain and more persistent by-products. The U.K. Environment Agency estimated a bio-degradation half-life of about 150 days for NP in surface water.

Conclusion
It is abundantly clear that the future requires sustainable solutions to cleaning that are readily biodegradable and not aquatically toxic. Proof that safer alternatives are now possible is available through Cogent Environmental Solutions at the following web site: www.cogentenvironmental.com.