3 Species Chronic Screen -- Many NPDES permits call for an initial 3 species

screen consisting of a vertebrate, invertebrate and a plant. The most sensitive

species is then selected for the remaining testing. This 3 species screen may be
repeated for the first to or three test periods or yearly, depending on permit
specifications.
Acute toxicity -- The discernible adverse effects ind!ced in an organism ithin a
short period of time "days# of e$pos!re to a chemical. %or a&!atic animals, this
!s!ally refers to contin!o!s e$pos!re to the chemical in ater for a period of !p to
fo!r days. The effects "lethal or s!b-lethal# occ!rring may !s!ally be observed
ithin the period of e$pos!re ith a&!atic organisms. 'c!te to$icity is !s!ally
defined as T(a ) *++,-./+. Note that ac!te means short, not mortality.
Acute Toxicity test -- ' method !sed to determine the concentration of a s!bstance
that prod!ces a to$ic effect on a specified percentage of test organisms in a short
period of time "e.g., 01 ho!rs#. 's a general g!ideline, death is the meas!re of
to$icity.
Ambient Toxicity -- To$icity fo!nd in the 2!naffected2 portion of an effl!ent3s
receiving aters.
Bioassay -- ' test !sed to eval!ate the relative potency of a chemical by comparing
its effect on a living organism ith the effect of a standard preparation on the same
type of organism. The term 2bioassay2 is commonly, tho!gh not technically
correct, !sed interchangeably ith the term 2to$icity test2.
Chronic toxicity -- 'n adverse effect that lingers or contin!es for a relatively long
period of time. ' chronic effect can be lethality, groth, red!ced reprod!ction, etc.
.hronic to$icity is defined as T(c ) *++,N4E. or T(c ) *++,E.p "or *++,5.p#.
Note6 chronic means long.
Chronic toxicity test -- ' method !sed to determine the concentration of a
s!bstance in ater that prod!ces an adverse effect on a test organism over an
e$tended period of time. 7ed!ctions in reprod!ction or groth are meas!res of
chronic effects.
Coefficient of Variation (CV) -- The standard statistical meas!rement of the
relative variation of a distrit!btion or set of data, defined as the standard deviation
divided by the mean. .oefficient of variation is a meas!rement of precision ithin
and and among laboratories.
Confidence limits or interval (CI) -- The limits or interval ithin hich, at some
specified level of probability, the tr!e val!e of a res!lt lies. Typically -./+ val!es
are reported ith a 0/ 8 confidence limits.
Control -- 'n e$pos!re of test organisms to dil!tion ater only "no to$icant is
added#. Dil!tion ater may consist of laboratory or client s!pplied receiving
aters.
Critical life stae -- The period of time in an organism3s life span in hich it is the
most s!sceptible to adverse effects ca!sed by e$pos!re to to$icants, !s!ally d!ring
early development "egg, embryo, larvae#. .hronic to$icity tests are often r!n on
critical life stages to replace long d!ration, life cycle tests since the to$ic effect
occ!rs d!ring the critical life stage.
!eath -- Defined as the lac9 of movement or reaction even after gentle prodding,
!efinitive bioassay -- ' bioassay designed to establish concentration at hich a
partic!lar end point occ!rs. E$pos!res for these tests are longer than for screen or
range finding assays and !s!ally incorporate m!ltiple replicates.
!ilution allo"ance -- 'lloance given to acco!nt for initial dil!tion of effl!ent
into receiving aters. :ecomes an important factor hen calc!lating proper test
concentrations for to$icity testing.
!ilution "ater -- The ater to hich the test s!bstance is added "dil!ted# and in
hich the organisms !ndergo e$pos!re.
!ose #esponse Curve -- ' mathematical representation of the response of test
organisms to different concentrations of a to$icant,effl!ent.
$ffective Concentration ($C) -- ' point estimate "statistically derived# of the
to$icant concentration that o!ld ca!se an &!antal "2all or nothing2# effect, s!ch as
death or lac9 of fertili;ation, in a given time, for e$ample, 01hr E./+.
$C%& -- The concentration of test s!bstance in dil!tion ater that is calc!lated to
effect /+ percent of a test pop!lation d!ring contin!o!s e$pos!re over a specified
period of time.
$xposure time -- -ength of time a test organism is e$posed to a test sol!tion.
'lo"(throuh tests -- 7efers to the contin!o!s or very fre&!ent passage of fresh
test sol!tion thro!gh a test chamber ith no recycling. :eca!se of the large vol!me
"often <++ -,day# of effl!ent normally re&!ired for flo-thro!gh tests, it is
generally considered too costly and impractical to cond!ct these tests off-site at a
central laboratory.
)a*ardous +aste Test -- ' test to determine hether or not a partic!lar sample
e$ceeds state to$icity g!idelines and is therefore classified as ha;ardo!s aste.
)ypothesis Testin -- ' techni&!e that determines hat concentration is
statistically different from the control. Endpoint determined from hypothesis
testing are N4E. and -4E..
Inhibition Concentration (IC) -- ' point estimate "statistically derived# of the
to$icant concentration that o!ld ca!se a given percent red!ction in a non-&!antal
biological meas!rement s!ch as fec!ndity or groth. %or e$ample, an 5.=/ o!ld
be the estimated concentration of to$icant that o!ld ca!se a =/8 red!ction in
mean yo!ng prod!ced or in groth.
,ethal Concentration (,C) -- to$icant concentration prod!cing death of test
organism. %or e$ample, a 01 hr -./+ o!ld be the test concentration 9illing /+8
of e$posed organisms after 01 ho!rs of e$pos!re.
,C%& -- -ethal concentration of a s!bstance 9illing /+ percent of an e$posed
organisms at a specific time interval. 'lso referred to as the median lethal
concentration "M-.#.
,-$C (,o"est -bserved $ffect Concentration) -- The loest to$icant
concentration of an effl!ent or a to$icant in a chronic bioassay that ca!sed an
adverse effect statistically different from the control. 'lso referred to as the -4E-
"-oest 4bserved Effect -evel#.
.a/or 0ermit -- 'ny permit"ee# ith a design flo of *.+ M>D "million gallons
per day# or greater "m!nicipal#. 'ny permit"ee# hich scores ?+ or greater on the
ma@or,minor permit classification scale "ind!strial#.
.ATC (.aximum Acceptable Toxicant Concentration) -- To$icant
concentration that may be present in a receiving ater itho!t ca!sing significant
harm to prod!ctivity or other !ses. M'T. is determined by long term tests of
either partial life cycle ith sensitive life stages or a f!ll life cycle of the test
organism.
.1! -- Million >allons per Day of discharge.
.inimum Sinificant !ifference (.S!) -- This is the magnit!de of difference
from the control here the n!ll hypothesis "the effl!ent is not to$ic# is re@ected in a
statistical test comparing a treatment "effl!ent concentrations# and a control. MSD
is based on the n!mber of replicates, control performance and the poer of the test.
.ixin 2one -- 'n allocated impact area in a ater body here n!meric ater
&!ality criteria can be e$ceeded as long as ac!tely to$ic conditions are prevented.
'lso referred to as A5D "Aone of 5nitial Dil!tion#.
3eonate -- 7ecently hatched cladoceran "ater flea#"ie., Ceriodaiphnia !ubia).
3-$C (3o -bserved $ffect Concentration) -- The highest concentration of an
effl!ent or a to$icant in a chronic bioassay that did not ca!se adverse effect
statistically different from the control.
3-$, (3o -bserved $ffect ,evel) -- The highest meas!red contin!o!s
concentration of an effl!ent or other to$icant that ca!ses no observed effect on a
test organism.
30!$S -- The National Poll!tant Discharge Elimination System prescribed by
Section <+= of the .lean Bater 'ct.
0oint $stimate Techni4ues -- Statistical techni&!es, s!ch as Probit 'nalysis,
5nterpolation Method, or Trimmed Sperman Carber Method, that are !sed to
determine the effl!ent concentration at hich adverse effects occ!rred. %or
e$ample, the -./+ is the concentration at hich /+8 mortality occrred. These
interp!lative methods do not re&!ire that the desired endpoint concentration
concntration be act!ally tetsed as in hypothesis testing.
0oint source -- ' discrete conveyance s!ch as a pipe, ditch, etc. contrib!ting
poll!tants to the environment.
0ollutant -- ' contaminant introd!ced into a receiving ater hich is s!b@ect to
technology-based or ater-&!ality based effl!ent limitations in the permit.
0-T+ -- P!blicly 4ned Treatment Bor9s, !s!ally consisting of primary and
secondary "biological# treatment.
#eference Toxicant -- ' chemical !sed to access the constancy of response of a
given species of test organisms to that chemical. 5t is ass!med that any change in
sensitivity to the reference s!bstance ill indicate the e$istence of some similar
change in degree of sensitivity to other chemicals,effl!ents hose to$icity is to be
determined.
#ene"al test -- ' test itho!t contin!o!s flo of sol!tion, b!t ith occasional
reneal of test sol!tions after prolonged periods, e.g., =< ho!rs.
#eplicate -- To or more d!plicate tests, samples, organisms, concentrations, or
e$pos!re chambers.
#esponse -- The meas!red biological effect of the material tested. 5n ac!te to$icity
tests this is !s!ally death. 5n biostim!lation tests this is !s!ally biomass increase.
5n chronic to$icity tests this can be red!ctions in reprod!ction, groth as ell as
death.
Screenin test -- 'n abbreviated to$icity test ith one or to to$icant
concentrations. Some 7egional and State effl!ent biomonitoring programs stip!late
its !se. 5f lethality is observed in the screening test, a definitive test may be
re&!ired.
Static tests -- To$icity tests ith a&!atic organisms in hich no flo of test
sol!tion occ!rs. Sol!tions may remain !nchanged thro!gho!t the d!ration of the
test. Types incl!de6 "i# nonreneal - the test organisms are e$posed to the same
effl!ent sol!tion for the d!ration of the testD and "ii# reneal - the test organisms
are e$posed to a fresh sol!tion of the same concentration of effl!ent every =< ho!rs
or other prescribed interval, either by transferring the test organisms from one test
chamber to another, or by replacing all . * or a portion of the effl!ent sol!tion in
the test chambers.
Static rene"al test -- ' test method in hich the test sol!tion is periodically
replaced at specific intervals d!ring the test.
Toxicity -- 'dverse effect to a test organism ca!sed by 2poll!tants. 2 To$icity is a
res!ltant of concentration and time, modified by variables s!ch as temperat!re,
chemical form, and availability.
Toxicity test -- ' meas!re of the to$icity of a chemical or an effl!ent !sing living
organisms by determining the degree of response "s!rvival, reprod!ction, groth,
etc.# of an e$posed organism to the chemical or effl!ent.
Toxic 5nits (T5s) -- ' meas!re of to$icity in an effl!ent as determined by the
ac!te to$icity !nits or chronic to$icity !nits. Eigher T(s indicate greater to$icity.
Toxic 5nit Acute (T5a) -- ' mathematical conversion of -./+ into a relatable
val!e. T(a ) *++,-./+.
Toxic 5nit Chronic (T5c) -- ' mathematical conversion of an N4E. or N4E-
into a relatable val!e. T(c ) *++,N4E..
Toxicity Identification $valuation (TI$) -- ' set of proced!res !sed to identify
the specific chemical"s# responsible for effl!ent to$icity. T5Es are a s!bset of the
T7E.
Toxicity #eduction $valuation (T#$) -- ' site-specific st!dy cond!cted in a
stepise process designed to identify the ca!sative agents of effl!ent to$icity,
isolate the so!rces of to$icity, eval!ate the effectiveness of to$icity control options,
and then confirm the red!ction in effl!ent to$icity. T7Es may incl!de T5E testing
as part of this process.
+hole $ffluent Toxicity (+$T) -- The total to$ic effect of an effl!ent meas!red
directly ith a to$icity test.
2one of Initial !ilution (2I!) -- 'n allocated impact area, or mi$ing ;one, in a
ater body here n!meric ater &!ality criteria can be e$ceeded as long as ac!tely
to$ic conditions are prevented.