Sulfurous acid, lead salt, dibasic

Toxicity to aquatic algae and cyanobacteria

Description of key information

For algae, 17 individual reliable freshwater acute toxicity data points for three species were put forward for hazard assessment purposes. The acute toxicity values (72h-EC₅₀) for Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata varied between 20.5 µg dissolved Pb/L (at pH 7.6 and hardness of 24 mg/L as CaCO₃) and 364 µg dissolved Pb/L (at pH 6 and hardness of 24 mg/L as CaCO₃). Acute toxicity values for the freshwater alga Chlorella kesslerii (48 h EC₅₀ of 388 µg dissolved Pb/L) and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (48 h EC₅₀ of 171.8 µg dissolved Pb/L).

Chronic high quality no-effect levels for freshwater algae were situated between 6.1 µg dissolved Pb/L and 190.0 µg dissolved Pb/L (Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata). Chronic toxicity values for the freshwater alga Chlorella kesslerii and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii were 120 µg dissolved Pb/L (48h NOEC) and 82.3 µg dissolved Pb/L (48h NOEC), respectively. High quality no-effect levels for marine algae were available for three different species (Skeletonema costatum, Dunaliella tertiolecta and Phaeodactylum tricornutum) and were situated between 29.4 µg dissolved Pb/L (Skeletonema costatum; endpoint: yield) and 1234 µg dissolved Pb/L (Phaeodactylum tricornutum; endpoint: growth rate).