Application of ToxCast to evaluate potential biological effects from organic contaminants in Great Lakes tributaries
Citation:
Corsi, S., L. De Cicco, A. Baldwin, D. Alvarez, A. Schroeder, Dan Villeneuve, B. Blackwell, G. Ankley, AND P. Lenaker. Application of ToxCast to evaluate potential biological effects from organic contaminants in Great Lakes tributaries. SETAC North America, Orlando, FL, November 06 - 10, 2016.
Impact/Purpose:
not applicable
Description:
With the development of “high throughput” in-vitro biological assays, screening-level information on potential adverse biological effects is available for a rapidly increasing number of chemicals. The U.S. EPA ToxCast program has now evaluated several thousand chemicals with more than 800 assays. The original intent of this data was to evaluate potential for human health effects, but it is now being extended to environmental health evaluations. The R package ToxEval was developed as a screening tool to use ToxCast results for evaluation of potential adverse biological effects from trace organic chemicals in water samples. Using ToxEval, trace organic chemical data from water samples and passive samplers collected at 57 Great Lakes tributaries from 2010-2013 were examined to determine the tributaries with the greatest potential for adverse biological effects with prioritization of the most influential contaminants. Results are being used as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to focus current and future investigations that will help understand likely adverse outcome pathways in biological organisms, and to formulate possible remediation strategies.