168 GEHRS 



be present in aqueous effluents. Paralysis, loss of equilibrium, 

 increased respiration rates, and increased swimming rates are 

 responses observed in fish exposed to phenols. Trout and salmon are 

 killed by phenol at levels of 3 to 5 mg/liter, but rough fish appear 5 

 to 10 times less sensitive (Albersmeyer and Erichsen, 1959). Phenolic 

 toxicity is inversely related to dissolved oxygen content 

 (Anonymous, 1961) and water hardness (Anonymous, 1962) and 

 directly related to water temperature (Bucksteeg, Thiele, and 

 Stoltzel, 1955). Available data reveal that fish are more sensitive to 

 phenolics than are other aquatic organisms (McKee and Wolf, 1963). 

 Although phenolics make up the largest fraction of organics 

 anticipated in untreated aqueous wastes, the well-developed 

 methodologies for their removal and degradation, coupled with reg- 

 ulations regarding quantities that can be released to surface waters, 

 suggest that they will not be a significant hazard to aquatic 

 environments. 



Data on the toxicity of phenolics to aquatic life are plenti- 

 ful, whereas little information on arylamines is available. 

 Arylamines constitute the second largest quantity (class) of organics 

 in untreated effluents. After treatment, undiluted aqueous effluents 

 might contain >50 mg/liter of arylamines, constituting more than 

 90% of the organic load arising from this class. Herbes, Southworth, 

 and Gehrs (1977), summarizing the available data on acute toxicity 

 of arylamines to aquatic life, found a good correlation between 

 molecular weight and 96-hr LC5 values. A 40-unit increase in 

 molecular weight resulted in a tenfold increase in acute toxicity 

 (Fig. 4). Parkhurst (1977) conducted static tests on the fathead 

 minnow (Pimephales promelas) for several arylamines in preparation 

 for chronic exposure studies. He obtained 96-hr LC5 values of 

 ~1.5, 24.7, and 7.0 mg/liter for quinoline, 2-methylquinoline, and 

 2,6-dimethylquinoline, respectively. 



Chronic effects of arylamines on fish have not been studied, but 

 Vasilenko et al. (1972) investigated mammalian responses to sub- 

 lethal exposures of aniline. Cyanosis, anemia, and neurological 

 disorders were observed in these studies. Epler et al. (1977) found 

 that several of the quinolines are mutagenic agents when ad- 

 ministered to microbial systems. The relatively high concentrations 

 of arylamines expected to be released from coal-conversion facilities 

 (as a result of poor treatability) suggest the possibility that acute 

 and chronic effects might occur in surrounding environments. 



The unsubstituted aromatic hydrocarbons, in particular the 

 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), have received the greatest 

 interest with respect to their occurrence in coal-conversion liquid 



