United States Office of Water EPA 440 1 5-80-038 Environmental Protection Regulations and Standards October 1980 Agency Criteria and Standards Division Washington DC 20460 -&EPA Ambient Water Quality Criteria for DDT AMBIENT WATER QUALITY CRITERIA FOR DDT Prepared By U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY Office of Water Regulations and Standards Criteria and Standards Division Washington, D.C. Office of Research and Development Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office Cincinnati, Ohio Carcinogen Assessment Group Washington, O.C. Environmental Research Laboratories Corvalis, Oregon Duluth, Minnesota Gulf Breeze, Florida Narragansett, Rhode Island i DISCLAIMER This report has been reviewed by the Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and approved for publication. Mention of trade names or colllTlercial products does not constitute endorsement or rec011111endation for use. AVAILABILITY NOTICE This document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, (NTIS), Springfield, Virginia 22161. ii FOREWORD Section 304 (a)(l) of the Clean Water Act of 1977 (P.L. 95-217), requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to publish criteria for water qua 1ity accurately reflecting the la test scientific knowledge on the kind and extent of all identifiable eff~cts on health and welfare which may be expected from the presence of pollutants in any body of water, including ground water. Proposed water quality criteria for the 65 toxic pollutants listed under section 307 (a)( 1) of the Clean Water Act were deve 1oped and a not 1ce of their availability was published for public conrnent on March 15, 1979 (44 FR 15926), July 25, 1979 (44 FR 43660), and October 1, 1979 (44 FR 56628). This document is a revision of those proposed criteria based upon a consideration of c011111ents received from other Federal Agencies, State agencies, special interest groups, and individual scientists. The criteria contained in this doc1111ent replace any previously published EPA criteria for the 65 pollutants. This criterion doc1.111ent is also published in satisifaction of paragraph 11 of the Settlement Agreement in Natura 1 Resources Defense Council ( et. a 1. vs. Train, 8 ERC 2120 {0.0.c. 1976), modified, 12 ERC 1833 0.0.C. 1979}. The term Mwater quality criteria" is used in two sections of the Clean Water Act, section 304 {a)(l} and section 303 (c)(2). The term has a different program impact in each section. In section 304, the term represents a non-regulatory, scientific assessment of ecological ef­ fects. The criteria presented in this publication are such scientific assessments. Such water quaHty criteria associated with specific stream uses when adopted as State water quality standards under section 303 become enforceable maximum acceptable levels of a pollutant in ambient waters. The water quality criteria adopted in the State water quality standards could have the same ntM11erical limits as the criteria developed under section 304. However, in many situations States may want to adjust water quality criteria developed under section 304 to reflect local environmental conditions and human exposure patterns before incorporation into water quality standards. It is not until their adoption as part of the State water quality standards that the criteria become regulatory. Guidelines to assist the States in the modification of criteria presented in this document, in the development of water quality standards, and in other water-related programs of this Agency, are being developed by EPA. STEVEN SCHATZtM Deputy Assistant Administrator Office of Water Regulations and Standards iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Aquatic Life Toxicology: William A. Brungs, ERL-Narragansett David J. Hansen, ERL-Gulf Breeze U.S. Envirorvnental Protection Agency U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Manmalian Toxicology and Human Health Effects: Maria Rabello (author) Joseph Arcos University of Texas Medical Branch Tulane Medical Center James Barnett (author) Tom Conner University of Texas Medical Branch University of Texas Medica.1 Branch Michael L. Oourson (doc. mgr.) Patrick Durkin ECAO-Cin Syracuse Research Corporation U.S. Environmental Protection Agency William Dykstra, OTS Jerry F. Stara (doc. mgr.) ECAO-Cin U.S. Environmental Protection Agency U.S. Envirorvnental Protection Agency Wayland Hayes Alfred Garvin Vanderbilt University University of Cincinnati Fmio Matsamura Steven 0. Lutkenhoff, ECAO-C1n Michigan State University U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Gary Oswei ler Donald P. Morgan University of Missouri University of Iowa Shane Que Hee W. Bruce Pierano, HERL-Cin University of Cincinnati U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Roy E. Albert, CAG* Donna Sivulka, ECAO-Cin U.S. Environmental Protection Agency U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Technical Support Services Staff: O.J. Reisman, M.A. Garlough, B.L. Zwayer, P.A. Daunt, K.S. Edwards, T.A. Scandura, A.T. Pressley, C.A. Cooper, M.M. Denessen. Clerical Staff: C.A. Haynes, S.J. Faehr, L.A. Wade, O. Jones, 8.J. Bord1cks, B.J. Quesnell, P. Gray, R. Rubinstein. *CAG Participating Members: Elizabeth L. Anderson, Larry Anderson Ralph Arnicar, Steven Bayard, David L. Bayliss, Chao W. Chen, John R. Fowle Ill, 1nernard Haberman, Charalingayya Hiremath, Chang S. Lao, Robert McGaughy, Jeffrey Rosenblatt, Dharrn V. Singh, and Todd W. Thorslund. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Criteria Summary Introduction A-1 Aquatic Life Toxicology B-1 Introduction B-1 Effects B-2 Acute Toxicity B-2 Chronic Toxicity B-5 Plant Effects B-6 Residues B-6 Miscellaneous B-11 Surrmary B-11 Criteria B-11 References B-53 Manmalian Toxicology and Human Health Effects C-1 Exposure C-1 Ingestion from Water C-1 Ingestion from Food C-3 Inhalation C-9 Dermal C-12 Sunmary C-12 Phannacokinetics C-13 Absorption C-13 Distribution C-14 Metabolism C-21 Excretion C-29 Effects C-31 Acute, Subacute and Chronic Toxicity C-31 Synergism and/or Antagonism C-33 Teratogenicity C-35 Mutagenicity C-38 Carcinogenicity C-45 Criterion Formulation C-64 Existing Guidelines and Standards C-64 Current Levels of Exposure C-66 Special Groups at Risk C-68 Basis and Derivation of Criterion C-69 References C-74 Appendix C-93 v CRITERIA DOCUMENT DDT AND METABOLITES CRITERIA Aquatic Life DDT For DDT and its metabolites the criterion to protect fresh­ water aquatic life as derived using the Guidelines is 0.0010 µg/l as a 24-hour average and the concentration should not exceed 1.1 µg/l at any time. For DDT and its metabolites the criterion to protect saltwater aquatic life as derived using the Guidelines is 0.0010 µg/l as a 24 hour average and the concentration should not exceed 0.13 µg/l at any time. TOE The available data for TDE indicate that acute toxicity to freshwa~er aquatic life occurs at concentrations as low as 0.6 µg/l and would occur at lower concentrations among species that are more sensitive than those tested. No data are available concerning the chronic toxicity of TDE to sensitive freshwater aquatic life. The available data for TOE indicate that acute toxicity to saltwater aquatic life occurs at concentrations as low as 3.6 µg/l and would occur at lower concentrations among species that are more sensitive than those tested. No data are available concerning the chronic toxicity of TDE to sensitive saltwater aquatic life. DDE The available data for DOE indicate that acute toxicity to freshwater aquatic life occurs at concentrations as low as 1,050 µg/l and would occur at lower concentrations among species that are vi more sensitive than those tested. No data are available concerning the chronic toxicity of ODE to sensitive freshwater aquatic life. The available data for DOE indicate that acute toxicity to saltwater aquatic life occurs at concentrations as low as 14 ug/l and would occur at lower concentrations among species that are more sensitive than those tested. No data are available concerning the chronic toxicity of ODE to sensitive saltwater aquatic life. Human Health For the maximum protection of human health from the potential carcinogenic effects due to exposure of DDT through ingestion of contaminated water and contaminated aquatic organisms, the ambient water concentration should be zero based on the non-threshold assumption for this chemical. However, zero level may not be attainable at the present time. Therefore, the levels which may result in incremental increase of cancer risk over the lifetime are estimated at 10-S, 10-6 and 10-7 • The corresponding recommended criteria are 0.24 ng/l, 0.024 ng/l, and 0.0024 ng/l, respectively. If the above estimates are made for consumption of aquatic organ­ isms only, excluding consumption of water, the levels are 0.24 ng/l, 0.024 ng/l, and 0.0024 ng/l, respectively. vii INTRODUCTION DDT, first synthesized in Germany in 1874, has been used ex­ tensively world-wide for public health and agricultural programs. Its efficacy as a broad spectrum insecticide and its low cost make it the insecticide for those measures for most of the world. Following an extensive review of health and environmental haz­ ards of DDT, U.S. EPA decided to ban its further use. This decision was based on several well evidenced properties such as: (1) DDT ancl its metabolites are toxicants with long-term persistence in soil and water, (2) it is widely dispersed by erosion, runoff and vola­ tilization, (3) the low-water solubility and high lipophilicity of DDT result in concentrated accumulation of DDT in the fat of wild­ life and humans which may be hazardous. Agricultural use of DDT was cancelled by the U.S. EPA in December, 1972. Prior to this, DDT had been widely used in the U.S. with a peak usage in 1959 of 80 million pounds. This amount decreased steadily to less than 12 million pounds by 1972. Since the 1972 ban, the use of DDT in the U.S.