## Technical Information Related to Developing a Saltwater Nickel

Addendum to the Ambient Water Quality Criteria Document

Prepared for:

Mr. John Dinice Bergen County Utility Authority P.O. Box 122 Foot of Merhof Road Little Fe rry, NJ 07943

Prepared by:

739 Hastings Street Traverse City, MI 49686 Phone: (231) 941

- 2230 Facsimile: (231) 941

- 2240 E

- mail: mick@glec

- tc.com

June 27, 2003Page 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Pamela F. Smith (primary author) Great Lake s Environmental Center 739 Hastings St. Traverse City, MI 49686

Under Contract through: Bergen County Utilities Authority (BCUA) Mehrhof Rd. P.O. Box 9 Little Ferry, NJ 07643

Tyler K. Linton (author and document coordinator) Great Lakes Environment al Center 1295 King Ave. Columbus, OH 43212Page 3



### Technical Information Related to Developing a Saltwater Nickel Addendum

to the Ambient Water Quality Criteria Document

(Dissolved and Total Nickel)

INTRODUCTION
National Water Quality Criteria are established by the United States Environmental Protection
Agency (USEPA), as mandated by the Clean Water Act of 1977. The Clean Water Act further
mandates that these criteria are to be updated as new information becomes available. The

Nation al Criteria Document for nickel was published by EPA in 1986, and in subsequent years
additional relevant data have been generated. A particular shortcoming of the 1986 document is
the long

- term Criterion Continuous Concentration (CCC), which was derived using a single

saltwater acute

- chronic ratio (ACR) and two widely different freshwater ACRs. Few long

- term
chronic toxicity tests are available which meet the requirements for data to be used in the criteria
document for saltwater organisms, and is the re ason the 1986 saltwater criterion (CCC) was
calculated using only one saltwater ACR.

A literature search yielded new saltwater acute and chronic nickel toxicity data published since
1986. Articles were obtained and reviewed following the “Guidelines fo r Deriving Numerical
National Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Aquatic Organisms and Their Uses”
(Stephan et al. 1985), hereafter referred to as The Guidelines. The new data were used to
recalculate nickel criteria for saltwater organisms us ing exclusively saltwater ACRs. This
document presents the data used to derive a new saltwater criteria for nickel and the methods

used in their recalculation.

METHODS
A thorough literature search was conducted following standardized literature search procedures.
CAS, ECOTOX, ACQUIRE, BIOSIS and selected university data bases were searched using a
set of key identifiers to obtain reports and articles published since 1986 (Appendix A). AllPage 4

relevant published articles and reports were identified by tit le and abstract, and then hard copies
were obtained of abstracts and journal articles that were likely to contain useful data. These
articles and reports were reviewed and revised acute and chronic saltwater toxicity tables were
developed consistent with those in the 1986 nickel criteria document. The revised tables were
then used to recalculate the Criterion Maximum Concentration (CMC) and the Criterion
Continuous Concentration (CCC), following The Guidelines.

RESULTS
The new acceptable acute and chroni c toxicity data for nickel obtained in the literature search
were used to update Tables 1, 2 and 3 of the 1986 nickel criteria document (Tables 1a, 2a and 3a,
respectively). Based on these findings, all of the nickel concentrations listed in the revised t ables
should reflect dissolved values or their equivalent. Lussier et al. (1999) compared the total and
dissolved metal concentration measurements for nickel (and other metals) in acute saltwater
toxicity tests, and determined that the dissolved and total nickel concentrations measured in test
solutions were essentially equivalent; thus criteria established for nickel based on measured and
nominal concentrations of total nickel in solutions should be equally valid for concentrations

based on dissolved nick el. A similar conclusion was reached by Hunt et al. (2002), who
compared total and dissolved metal concentration measurements for nickel in acute and chronic
saltwater toxicity tests with a fish and two invertebrate species.

CRITERION MAXIMUM CONCENTRATI ON (CMC)
Twenty saltwater genera, including 18 species of invertebrates and 4 species of fish, were used to

calculate the saltwater final acute value (FAV) of 149.2 ? g/L listed in the 1986 nickel criteria
document. The four most sensitive genera listed in the 1986 criteria document are: Heteromysis

, Mercenaria

, Mysidopsis, and Crassostrea . The Species Mean Acute Values (SMAVs) and
Genus Mean Acute Values (GMAVs) for the four most sensitive saltwater species are provided

below:Page 5

GENUS SMAV ( ? g/L) GMAV ( ? g/L)

Heteromysis formosa 151.7 151.7

Mercenaria mercenaria 310 310

Mysidopsis bigelowi/bahia 634/508 567.5

Crassostrea virginica embryo 1,180 1,180

The lit erature published since the 1986 criteria document yielded six new genera for which
acceptable acute nickel toxicity data now exist, and three new genera for which chronic nickel
toxicity data exist. New saltwater genera with acceptable acute values now i nclude:
Americamysis (formerly Mysidopsis

- a taxonomic name change since the 1986 nickel criteria
document was written), Mytilus, Cancer, Atherinops, Strongylocentrotus, and Haliotus (Table
1a). The new genera with acceptable chronic values include Athe rinops

, Mysidopsis and

Haliotus (Table 2a). A total of four saltwater genera are now available to recalculate a new

saltwater final acute

- to

- chronic ratio (FACR) value, taking into account the taxonomic change of
Mysidopsis bahia

to the genus Americamysi s.

The four most sensitive species calculated using the new GMAV’s are:

GENUS SMAV ( ? g/L) GMAV ( ? g/L)

Haliotis rufescens* 145.5 145.5

Mysidopsis intii* 148.6 148.6

Heteromysis formosa 151.7 151.7

Mercenaria mercenaria 310.0 310.0
*New species acute value

Three of the original four most sensitive genera remain: Mysidopsis, Heteromy sis , and

Mercenaria

. Haliotis rufescens, a commercially important species, replaces HeteromysisPage 6

formosa as the most sensitive saltwater species, with Mysidopsis intii becoming the second most
sensitive saltwater species. Heteromysis formosa becomes the t hird most sensitive species and

Mercenaria mercenaria the fourth, with the genus Crassostrea no longer among the four most
sensitive genera. The new GMAV calculated for the genus Mysidopsis using the new value for
Mysidopsis intii

(due to the removal of t he acute values for Mysidopsis bahia and M. bigelowi as a consequence of the taxonomic change of both Mysidopsis bahia and Mysidopsis bigelowi to
Americamysis) resulted in a GMAV of 148.6 ? g/L (Table 3a) relative to the original value of

567.5 ? g/L(U.S. EP A, 1986). The GMAV recalculated for the new genus Americamysis is 570.3

? g/L, which does not fall within the values of the top four most sensitive species.

Using the updated saltwater acute database and the method of calculation outlined in the

Guideline s, the recalculated saltwater nickel FAV is 129.6 ? g/L; compared to the old FAV of

149.2 ? g/L. The CMC rounded to two significant figures thus becomes 65 ? g/L. Both the FAV
and CMC values are lower than the existing values for saltwater organisms in the nickel criteria
document. A ranked summary of the nickel GMAVs for saltwater using the new data is
provided in Figure 1.
CRITERION CONTINUOUS CONCENTRATION (CCC)
One saltwater species ( Mysidopsis bahia ) and two freshwater species ( Daphnia magna and

Pim ephales promelas )

, were used to calculate the FACR in the 1986 national criteria document
for nickel because there was only one acceptable saltwater ACR available at that time.

ACR Values Used in the 1986 National Nickel Criteria Document to Calculate the CCC

Species Acute Value ( ? g/L) Chronic Value

( ? g/L) Acute

Chronic Ratio
(ACR)

Fathead Minnow, Pimephales
promelas (freshwater) 12,035 338.30 35.58Page 7

Species Acute Value
( ? g/L) Chronic Value

( ? g/L) Acute

Chronic Ratio
(ACR)

Water Flea, Daphnia magna
(freshwater) 2,580 86.55 29.86

Mysid, Mysidopsis bahia 508 92.75 5.478

FACR = 17.99

However, three new chronic nickel toxicity values for three different saltwater organisms have
been reported since the 1986 national criteria document was published (Table 2a). The addition
of these new chronic values with their correspondin g acute toxicity values listed above allows for
the calculation of a new CCC using only saltwater species data. The three new genera include a

marine fish Atherinops affinis, the shrimp Mysidopsis intii , and the commercially important

bivalve Haliotis ru

fescens . In addition, the taxonomic change of Mysidopsis bahia adds the

genus Americamysis to the list.

ACR Values Used to Calculate the CCC for Saltwater Organisms for the Addendum

Species Acute Value ( ? g/L) Chronic Value

( ? g/L) Acute

Chronic Ratio (ACR)

Topsmelt Atherinops affinis 26,560 4,270 6.220

Mysid Americamysis bahia * 513 92.75 5.478**

Mysid Mysidopsis intii 148.6 22.09 6.727

Red abalone Haliotis rufescens 145.5 26.43 5.505

FACR = 5.960

* Formerly Mysidopsis bahia value as reported in the 1986 national criteria document.Page 8

** The ACR is not calculated using the new acute value of 513; the ACR value in the 1986 criteria document is used because the Guidelines state that the ACR should be calculated using acute and chronic data from the same test, if possible.

The ACR values calculated using the new acute and chronic nickel toxicity data are all very
similar to one another, ranging from 5.478

- 6.727. This is in contrast to the freshwater ACR

values used in the 1986 nickel criteria docum ent, which are 29.86 for Daphnia magna and 35.58

for Pimephales promelas . The ACRs for the two freshwater species are as much as 6.5 times
higher than the saltwater ACR values.

The CCC recommended in this document is calculated by dividing the FAV by th e FACR. The
FACR calculated as the geometric mean of only the four saltwater ACR values is 5.960,
compared to the 17.99 ACR presented in the 1986 criteria document. Therefore, using the new
saltwater nickel toxicity data the CCC increases to 22 ? g/L, com pared to the 8.3 ? g/L value
calculated in the 1986 criteria document, which relies on the greatly different ACR values for the
two freshwater species. Thus, the recalculated CCC using exclusively saltwater genera is nearly
three times greater than the CCC in the 1986 criteria document. The recalculated CCC is close

to the chronic value of 22.09 ? g/L for M. intii , and lower than the value of 26.43 ? g/L for
commercially important abalone H. rufescens . A ranked summary of the nickel chronic values

for saltw ater organisms using the new data is provided in Figure 1 along with the corresponding
GMAVs for those species.

OTHER DATA
Other nickel toxicity data deemed not acceptable for use in calculating saltwater criteria per The

Guidelines included 48

- hour acute nickel toxicity studies using the amphipod, Ampelisca abdita
(Ho et al. 1999), and 7

- day lethality studies with the quahog clam, Mercenaria mercenaria
(Keppler and Dingwood, 2002) and yellow crab, Cancer anthonyi (MacDonald et al. 1988). The

7

- day EC 50 for nickel using M. mercenaria was 1,440 ? g /L, while no significant mortality was
exhibited by yellow crabs up to 10,000 ? g/L (Table 6a). The 48

- hour acute nickel toxicity tests

with A. abdita

were conducted at three different pH levels. The IC 50 values associated with the

tests were 7,660, >10,100 and 9,400 ? g/L at pH 6,7, and 8, respectively. From these data, pH
does not appear to substantially increase or decrease nickel toxicity to this particular saltwaterPage 9

species.

UNUSED DATA
The following studie s were classified not acceptable following The Guidelines and therefore
were not used to calculate the criteria values presented in this document. In the studies
conducted by Armstrong et al. (1993) and Hardin et al.(1992) excised tissues were exposed to
nickel and transplanted back into the living organism. Only two exposure concentrations were
employed in the testing procedures utilized by Lussier et al. (1999), and Taylor et al. (1985) only
assessed the toxicity of nickel on two non

- resident marine fis h species.

NATIONAL CRITERIA
In light of this new information GLEC recommends that EPA consider the following language
for its national criterion : The procedures described in the Guidelines, (except possibly when a
locally important species is unusually s ensitive) should protect saltwater aquatic life if the four

day average dissolved concentration of nickel does not exceed 22 ? g/L more than once every
three years on the average, and if the 24

- hour average dissolved concentration does not exceed

65 ? g/L more than once every three years on the average. There are currently insufficient data to
establish whether nickel toxicity is salinity

- dependent; therefore, the 24

- hour average
concentration is assumed to be protective at both low and high salinities.

These criteria were developed following U.S. EPA guidance which states that using dissolved
nickel provides the most scientifica lly correct basis upon which to establish water

- column
criteria for nickel. It is recognized that a small fraction of dissolved nickel in organic

- rich water
may be less toxic than freely dissolved nickel. On the other hand, some particulate forms of

nick el might contribute to nickel loading of organisms, possibly through ingestion.

We also advocate a return interval of three years consistent with the Agency’s general
recommendation. The resilience of ecosystems and their ability to recover differ greatl y, however, and site

- specific criteria should be established if adequate justification is provided.Page 10

The use of criteria in designing waste treatment facilities requires the selection of an appropriate
wasteload allocation model. Dynamic models are prefer red for the application of these criteria.
Limited data or other factors may make their use impractical, in which case one should rely on a
steady

- state model. We recommend the interim use of 1Q5 or 1Q10 for Criterion Maximum
Concentration (CMC) design f low, and 7Q5 or 7Q10 for the Criterion Continuous Concentration
(CCC) design flow in steady

- state models for unstressed and stressed systems, respectively.
These matters are discussed in more detail in the USEPA Technical Support Document for Water
Qualit y

- Based Toxics Control (document No. 50512

- 90

- 001).Page 11 

### Figure 1. Ranked Summary of Saltwater Nickel GMAVs with Corresponding Chronic Values of Four Species Graphed below Their Respective GMAVs

1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1

% Rank of GMAVs Nickel Effect Concentration (ug/L)

Saltwater Invertebrates Saltwater Fish Species

Criterion Maximum Concentration = 65 ug/L nickel Saltwater Final Acute Value = 129.6 ug/L

d Criterion Continuous Concentration = 21.7 ug/L X = chronic value 

### x

x

x xPage 12 REFERENCES

FOR DATA USED IN THE SALTWATER NICKEL CRITERIA ADDENDUM

Garman, G.D., S.L. Anderson and G.N. Cherr. 1977. Developmental abnormalities and DNA

protein crosslinks in sea urchin e mbryos exposed to three metals. Aquat. Toxicol. 39:247

- 265.

Ho, K.T., A. Kuhn, M.C. Pelletier, T.L. Hendricks and A. Helmstetter. 1999. pH dependent
toxicity of five metals to three marine organisms. Environ. Toxicol. 14:235

- 240.

Hunt, J.W., B.S. Ande rson, B.M. Phillips, R.S. Tjeerdema, H.M. Puckett, M. Stephenson, D.W.
Tucker and D. Watson, 2002. Acute and chronic toxicity of nickel to marine organisms:
Implications for water quality criteria. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. Vol. 21, No. 11, pp. 2423

- 2430.

Keppler, C.J. and A.H. Ringwood. 2002. Effects of met al exposures on juvenile clams,

Mercenaria mercenaria . Bull. Environ.Contam.Toxicol. 68:43

- 48.

Lussier, S.M., W.S. Boothman, S.Poucher, D. Champlin and A. Helmstetten. 1999. Comparison

of dissolved and total metals concentrations from acute tests with saltwater organisms. Environ.
Toxicol. Chem. Vol. 18. No.5, pp. 889

- 898.

Macdonald, J.M., J.D. Shields and R.K. Zimmer

- Faust. 1988. Acute toxicities of eleven metals
to early life

- history stages of t he yellow crab Cancer anthonyi . Mar. Biol. 98: 201

- 207.

Martin, M., K.E. Osborn, P. Billig and N. Glickstein. 1981. Toxicities of ten metals to
Crassostrea gigas and Mytilus edulis embryos and Cancer magister larvae, Mar. Pollut.
Bull. Vol. 12, No. 9, pp.303

- 308.

Stephen, C.E., D.I. Mount, D.J. Hansen, J.H. Gentile, G.A. Chapman and W.A. Brungs. 1985.
Guidelines for deriving numerical national water quality criteria for the protection of aquaticPage 13

organisms and their uses. PB85

- 227049. National Techni cal Information Service, Springfield,

VA, USA.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 1986. Ambient water quality criteria for nickel. Office
of Water, Washington, DC.Page 14 

## APPENDIX A

FOR DATA NOT USED IN THE SALTWATER NICKEL CRITERIA ADDENDUM

Armstrong, N., J. Hardin and D.R. McClay. 1993. Cell

- cell interactions regulate skeleton
formation in the sea urchin embryo. Development 119, 833

- 840.
(The tests were conducted without using whole living organisms: tissues were removed
exposed to nickel and then tr ansplanted back into the organism.)

Hardin, J., J.A. Coffman, S.D. Black and D.R. McCla 14 y. 1992. Commitment along the
dorsoventral axis of the sea urchin embryo is altered in response to NiCl 2 . Development 116,

671

- 685.
(The tests were conducted withou t using whole living organisms: tissues were removed
exposed to nickel and then transplanted back into the organism.)

Lussier, S.M., W.S. Boothman, S.Poucher, D. Champlin, and A. Helmstetten. 1999. Comparison

of dissolved and total metals concentrations from acute tests with saltwater organisms. Environ.
Toxicol. Chem. Vol. 18. No.5, pp. 889

- 898.
( Only two exposure concentrations were included in the testing procedure.)

Taylor, D., B.G. Maddock and G. Mance. 1985. The acute toxicity of nine “grey list ” metals
(arsenic, boron, chromium, copper, lead, nickel, tin, vanadium and zinc) to two marine fish
species: Dab (

Limanda limanda ) and Grey Mullet ( Chelon labrosus ). Aquat. Toxicol. 7: 135

-
144
(Non

- resident species)Page 15

Table 1a. Acute Toxicity of Nickel to Aquatic Animals

- Saltwater (new data are bolded)

.

Species Method A Chemical Salinity g/kg

(temperature) LC50/EC50

( ? g/L) B Species

Mean Acute
Value ( ? g/L) Reference

Polychaete worm (adult),

Nereis arenaceodentata S,U Nickel

chloride - 49,000 49,000 Petrich and Reish 1979

Polychaete worm (adult),

Nereis virens S,U Nickel

chloride 20 25,000 25,000 Eisler and Hennekey

1 977

Polychaete worm (adult),

Ctenodrilus serratus S,U Nickel

chloride - 17,000 17,000 Petrich and Reish 1979

Polychaete worm (adult),
Capitella capitata S, U Nickel

chloride - >50,000 >50,000 Petrich and Reish 1979

Mud snail (adult),

Nassarius obsoletu

s S, U Nickel

chloride 20 72,000 72,000 Eisler and Hennekey

1977

Eastern Oyster (embryo),
Crassostrea virginica S, U Nickel

chloride 25 1,180 1,180 Calabrese et al. 1973Page 16 Species Method A Chemical Salinity g/kg

(temperature) LC50/EC50

( ? g/L) B Species

Mean Acute

Value ( ? g/L) Reference

Pacific oyster
Crassostrea gigas S,M Nickel

sulfate 34 (20 ? C) 349 349 Martin et al. 1981

Clam,

Macoma balthica S, U Nickel

chloride 15 (5 ? C) 100,000

- Bryant et al. 1985

Clam,

Macoma balthica S, U Nickel

chloride 25 (5 ? C) 380,000

- Bryant et al. 1985

Clam,

Macoma balthica S, U Nickel

chloride 35 (5 ? C) 700,000

- Bryant et al. 1985

Clam,

Macoma balthica S, U Nickel

chloride 15 (10 ? C) 95,000

- Bryant et al. 1985

Clam,

Macoma balthica S, U Nickel

chloride 25 (10 ? C) 560,000

- Bryant et al. 1985Page 17 Species Method A Chemical Salinity g/kg

(temperature) LC50/EC50

( ? g/L) B Species

Mean Acute

Value ( ? g/L) Reference

Clam,

Macoma balthica S, U Nickel

chloride 35 (15 ? C) 1,100,000

- B ryant et al. 1985

Clam,

Macoma balthica S, U Nickel

chloride 15 (15 ? C) 110,000

- Bryant et al. 1985

Clam,

Macoma balthica S, U Nickel

chloride 25 (15 ? C) 180,000

- Bryant et al. 1985

Clam,

Macoma balthica S, U Nickel

chloride 35 (15 ? C) 540,000 294,500 Bryant et al. 1985

Quahog clam (embryo),

Mercenaria mercenaria S, U Nickel

chloride 25 310 310 Calabrese and Nelson

1974

Soft

- shell clam (adult),
Mya arenaria S, U Nickel

chloride 20 320,000

- Eisler and Hennekey

1977Page 18 Species Method A Chemical Salinity g/kg

(temperature) LC50/EC50

( ? g/L) B Species

Mean Acute

Value ( ? g/L) Reference

Soft

- shell clam (adult),
Mya arena ria S, U Nickel

chloride 30 >50,000 320,000 Eisler 1977a

Blue bay mussel
Mytilus edulis S, M Nickel

sulfate 34 (17 ? C) 891 891 Martin et al. 1981

Red abalone
Haliotis rufescens F, M Not
reported 34 (15 ? C) 145.5 145.5 Hunt et al. 2002

Copepod (adult),
Eurytemora affinis S, U Nickel

chloride 30 13,180

- Lussier and Cardin 1985

Copepod (adult),
Eurytemora affinis S, U Nickel

chloride 30 9,593 11,240 Lussier and Cardin 1985

Copepod (adult),

Acartia clausi S, U Nickel

chloride 30 3,466 3,466 Lussier and Cardin 1985Page 19 Species Method A Chemical Salinity g/kg

(temperature) LC50/EC50

( ? g/L) B Species

Mean Acute

Value ( ? g/L) Reference

Copepod (adult),
Nitocra spinipes S, U Nickel

chloride 7 6,000 6,000 Bengtsson 1978

Mysid (juvenile),
Heteromysis formosa 30 151.7 151.7 Gentile et al. 1982

Mysid (juvenile)
Mysidopsis bahia
Americamysis bahia F,M Nickel

chloride 30 508

- Gentile et al. 1982;

Lussier et al. 1985

Mysid (juvenile),
Americamysis
(Mysidopsis) bahia S, M Not
reported 30 ( 20 ? C) IC50:
pH 6

- 310
pH 7

- 610
pH 8

- 720 513 Ho 1999

Mysid (juvenile),
Americamysis
(Mysidopsis) bigelowi S, M Nickel

chloride 30 634 634 Gentile et al, 1982Page 20 Species Method A Chemical Salinity g/kg

(temperature) LC50/EC50

( ? g/L) B Species

Mean Acute

Value ( ? g/L) Reference

Mysid
Mysidopsis intii F, M Not
reported 34 (20 ? C) 148.6 148.6 Hunt et al. 2002

Amphipod,
Corophium volutator S, U Nickel

chloride 5 (5 ? C) 5,000

- Bryant et al. 1985

Amphipod,
Corophium volutator S, U Nickel

chloride 10 (10 ? C) 21,000

- Bryant et al. 1985

Amphipod,
Corophium volutator S, U Nickel

chloride 15 (5 ? C) 18,000

- Bryant et al. 198 5

Amphipod,
Corophium volutator S, U Nickel

chloride 25 (5 ? C) 36,000

- Bryant et al. 1985

Amphipod,
Corophium volutator S, U Nickel

chloride 35 (5 ? C) 54,000

- Bryant et al. 1985Page 21 Species Method A Chemical Salinity g/kg

(temperature) LC50/EC50

( ? g/L) B Species

Mean Acute

Value ( ? g/L) Reference

Amphipod,
Corophium volutator S, U Nickel

chloride 5 (10 ? C) 8,000

- Brya nt et al. 1985

Amphipod,
Corophium volutator S, U Nickel

chloride 10 (10 ? C) 15,000

- Bryant et al. 1985

Amphipod,
Corophium volutator S, U Nickel

chloride 15 (10 ? C) 22,000

- Bryant et al. 1985

Amphipod,
Corophium volutator S, U Nickel

chloride 25 (1 0 ? C) 24,000

- Bryant et al. 1985

Amphipod,
Corophium volutator S, U Nickel

chloride 35 (10 ? C) 52,000

- Bryant et al. 1985

Amphipod,
Corophium volutator S, U Nickel

chloride 5 (15 ? C) 5,600

- Bryant et al. 1985Page 22 Species Method A Chemical Salinity g/kg

(temperature) LC50/EC50

( ? g/L) B Species

Mean Acute

Value ( ? g/L) Reference

Amphipod,
Corophium volutator S, U Nickel

chloride 10 (15 ? C) 16,000

- Bryant et al. 1985

Amphipod,
Corophium volutator S, U Nickel

chloride 15 (15 ? C) 18,000

- Bryant et al. 1985

Amphipod,
Corophium volutator S, U Nickel

chloride 25 (15 ? C) 22,000

- Bryant et al. 1985

Amphipod,
Corophium volu tator S, U Nickel

chloride 35 (15 ? C) 34,000 18,950 Bryant et al. 1985

Hermit crab (adult),
Pagurus longicarpus S, U Nickel

chloride 20 47,000 47,000 Eisler and Hennekey

1977

Dungeness crab
Cancer magister S, M Nickel

sulfate 34 (15 ? C) 4,360 4,360 Martin et al. 1981Page 23 Species Method A Chemical Salinity g/kg

(temperature) LC50/EC50

( ? g/L) B Species

Mean Acute

Value ( ? g/L) Reference

Starfish (adult),
Asterias forbesii S, U Nickel

chloride 20 150,000 150,000 Eisler and Hennekey

1977

Purples sea urchin
Strongylocentrotus

purpuratus S, U Nickel

chloride 34 (15 ? C) 2,500 2,500 Garman et al. 1997

Mummichog (adult),

Fundulu s heteroclitus S, U Nickel

chloride 6.9 55,000

- Dorfman 1977

Mummichog (adult),

Fundulus heteroclitus S, U Nickel

chloride 21.6 175,000

- Dorfman 1977

Mummichog (adult),

Fundulus heteroclitus S, U Nickel

chloride 20 350,000 149,900 Eisler and Hennekey

1 977

Atlantic silverside (larva),

Menidia menidia S, U Nickel

chloride 30 7,958 7,958 Cardin 1985Page 24 Species Method A Chemical Salinity g/kg

(temperature) LC50/EC50

( ? g/L) B Species

Mean Acute

Value ( ? g/L) Reference

Tidewater silverside
(juvenile),
Menidia peninsulae S, U Nickel

chloride 20 38,000 38,000 Hansen 1983

Striped bass (63 day),

Morone saxatillis S, U Nickel

chloride 1 21,000 21,000 Palawski et al. 1985

Spot (juvenile),

Leiostomus zanthurus S, U Nickel

chloride 21 70,000 70,000 Hansen 1983

Topsmelt
Atherinops affinis F, M Not
reported 34 (20 ? C) 26,560 26,560 Hunt et al. 2002

A S = static; R = renewal; F = flow

- through; M = Measured; U = unmeasured

.

B Results are expressed as nickel, not as the chemical.Page 25 Table 2a. Chronic Toxicity of Nickel to Aquatic Animals

- Saltwater (new data are bolded)

.

Species Test A Chemical Salinity
(g/kg) Limits

( ? g/L) B Chron ic

Value ( ? g/L) Reference

Mysid,
Americamysis
(Mysidopsis) bahia LC Nickel

chloride 30 61

- 141 92.74 Gentile et al. 1982;

Lussier et al. 1985

Mysid
Mysidopsis intii LC Not
reported 34 (20 ? C) 10.0

- 48.8 22.09 Hunt et al. 2002

Red abalone
Haliotis rufescens LC Not
reported 34 (15 ? C) 21.5

- 32.5 26.43 Hunt et al. 2002

Topsmelt
Atherinops affinis LC Not
reported 34 (20 ? C) 3,240

- 5,630 4,270 Hunt et al. 2002

A LC = Life

- cycle or partial life

- cycle

.
B Results are based on measured concentrations of nickel; limits are reported No Observed Effect Concentration (NOEC) and Lowest Observed Effect Concentration (LOEC).Page 26

Table 3a. Ranked GMAVs with Species Mea n Acute Chronic Ratios for the Saltwater Nickel Criteria (new data are
bolded).

Rank A Genus Mean Acute Value

( ? g/L) Species Species Mean Acute Value

( ? g/L) B Species Mean

Acute

- Chronic

Ratio C

26 320,000 Soft

- shell clam
Mya arenaria 320,000

25 294,500 Clam

Macoma balthica 294,500

24 150,000 Starfish
Asterias forbessii 150,000

23 149,900 Mummichog

Fundulus het eroclitus 149,900

22 72,000 Mud snail

Nassarius obsoletus 72,000Page 27

Rank A Genus Mean Acute Value
( ? g/L) Species Species Mean Acute Value
( ? g/L) B Species Mean

Acute

- Chronic

Ratio C

21 70,000 Spot

Leiostomus

xanthurus 70,000

20 >50,000 Polychaete worm
Capitella capitata >50,000

19 47,000 Hermit crab
Pagurus longicarpus 47,000

18 35,000 Polychaete worm

Nereis

arenaceodentata 49,00

Polychaete worm

Nereis virens 25,000

17 26,560 Topsmelt
Atherinops affinis 26,560 6.220Page 28

Rank A Genus Mean Acute Value
( ? g/L) Species Species Mean Acute Value
( ? g/L) B Species Mean

Acute

- Chronic

Ratio C

16 21,000 Striped bass

Morone saxatilis 21,000

15 18,950 Amphipod
Corophium volutator 18,950

14 17,390 Atlantic silverside

Menidia meni dia 7,958

Tidewater silverside
Menidia peninsulae 38,000

13 17,000 Polychaete worm

Ctenodrilus serratus 17,000

12 11,240 Copepod
Eurytemora affinis 11,240Page 29

Rank A Genus Mean Acute Value
( ? g/L) Species Species Mean Acute Value
( ? g/L) B Species Mean

Acute

- Chronic

Ratio C

11 6,000 Copepod
Nitocra spinipes 6,000

10 4,360 Dungeness crab
Cancer magister 4,360

9 3,466 Copepod

Acartia clausi 3,466

8 2,500 Purple sea urchin
Strongylocentrotus

purpuratus 2,500

7 891 Bay mussel
Mytilus edulis 891

6 641.7 Eastern oyster
Crassostrea virginica 1,180Page 30

Rank A Genus Mean Acute Value
( ? g/L) Species Species Mean Acute Value
( ? g/L) B Species Mean

Acute

- Chronic

Ratio C

Pacific oyster
Crassostrea gigas 349

5 570.3 Mysid

Americ amysis bahia 513 5.478

Mysid
Americamysis
bigelowi 634

4 310 Quahog clam

Mercenaria

mercenaria 310

3 151.7 Mysid
Heteromysis formosa 151.7

2 148.6 Mysid
Mysidopsis intii 148.6 6.727Page 31

Rank A Genus Mean Acute Value
( ? g/L) Species Species Mean Acute Value
( ? g/L) B Species Mean

Acute

- Chronic

Ratio C

1 145.5 Red abalone
Haliotis rufescens 145.5 5.505

A Ranked

from most resistant to most sensitive based on Genus Mean Acute Value. Inclusion of “greater than” values does not necessarily imply a true ranking, but does allow
use of all genera for which data are available so that the Final Acute Value is not unnece ssarily lowered.

B From Table 1

C From Table 2Page 32

Table 6a. Other Data on Effects of Nickel on Aquatic Saltwater Organisms (published since the 1986 National Criteria

Document).

Species Chemical Salinity
(g/kg) Duration Effect Concentration Reference

Nickel 30 48

- hours IC50 7,660 (pH 6.0) Ho et al. 1999

Nickel 30 48

- hours IC50 >10,100 (pH 7.0) Ho et al. 1999 Amphi pod
Ampelisca abdita

Nickel 30 48

- hours IC50 9400 (pH 8.0) Ho et al. 1999

Quahog clam

Mercenaria mercenaria Nickel chloride 25 7

- days EC50 1,440 Keppler and
Ringwood 2002

Yellow crab
Cancer anthonyi Nickel chloride 34 7

- Days mean %
mortality ? 10,000 (49.3%

mortality) MacDonald et al.

1988

A Study determined no differences between dissolved and total measurements for the range

- finding tests and used total measurements for the definitive tests.