New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 7 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Chapter 18 - REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE CERTIFICATION OF LABORATORIES AND ENVIRONMENTAL MEASUREMENTS › Subchapter 7 - TOXICITY TESTING › Section 7:18-7.5 - Acute toxicity testing methodology

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) A laboratory
				shall not use an acute toxicity test experimental design unless it satisfies
				all applicable requirements of this section.
(b) When the purpose of a definitive acute
				toxicity test is to determine compliance with an LC[50] or EC[50] permit
				limitation, the test shall satisfy all of the following requirements:
1. The test shall include at least one
				control treatment, and a series of at least five effluent
				concentrations;
2. The laboratory
				shall perform each control treatment and each effluent concentration at least
				in duplicate, and shall conduct additional replicate series when necessary to
				achieve required test precision. The laboratory shall use only true replicates,
				with no water connections between test chambers;
3. If the toxicity of the effluent to the
				test organism is not known, the laboratory shall select concentrations that are
				evenly spaced on either a logarithmic scale or a geometric scale. The
				concentration of effluent in each treatment (except for the highest
				concentration and each control) shall be at least 50 percent of the next
				highest one;
4. If the toxicity of
				the effluent to the test organism is known approximately, the laboratory shall
				select concentrations of effluent that are evenly spaced (on either a
				logarithmic scale or geometric scale) around the expected LC[50] or EC[50].
				Except for the highest concentration and each control(s), the test
				concentration shall be at least 60 percent of the next higher one. The use of a
				100 percent effluent concentration is not required where the inclusion of such
				concentration is not within the expected range of the LC[50];
5. Every toxicity test shall include a
				dilution water control treatment consisting of the same dilution water,
				conditions, procedures, type and number of organisms as used in the effluent
				treatments, except that the laboratory shall add none of the effluent being
				tested to the dilution water. Whenever the laboratory uses artificial sea salts
				to adjust the salinity of either the dilution water sample or effluent sample,
				an additional control treatment shall be included. This additional control
				treatment shall consist of replicate chambers containing only artificial
				saltwater, made with the same artificial sea salts used to adjust the samples.
				The artificial saltwater shall be made to the same standardized salinity and pH
				as the other test treatments; and
6. The laboratory shall expose at least 20
				test organisms to each effluent concentration and each control treatment. For
				example, when the laboratory is conducting the test in duplicate, it shall
				expose at least 10 organisms per test chamber. The number of organisms used in
				each effluent concentration shall be equal to the number used in other effluent
				concentrations and to the number used in the control.