Acute Toxicity of Fire Control Chemicals to Daphnia magna (Straus) and Selenastrum capricornutum (Printz)

Conclusions

All five chemicals are applied during fire-fighting operations at concentrations greater than the acutely toxic concentrations reported here. Therefore, caution should be used to prevent or minimize direct applications of fire-fighting chemicals into aquatic ecosystems. Adverse effects of fire-fighting chemicals on primary producers such as algae and on important aquatic invertebrates such as daphnids in the food web could lead to altered biodiversity and shifts in trophic pathways. Disruption of ecosystem functions at lower trophic levels could in turn impair the health and well-being of organisms at higher trophic levels such as fish.

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