Acute Toxicity
Because little is known regarding the toxicity of PFAS-free AFFF formulations, the first phase of our project was focused on acute toxicity trials (e.g.., range-finding studies, lethal concentration tests). These studies determined the general toxicity of the formulations and informed our selection of concentrations for our chronic exposures experiment. In brief, the acute toxicity trials are conducted across a broad range of concentrations of the formulations and survival was monitored daily for 48 hours. The data is then used to calculate the 48-hour LC10, LC50, and LC90 values. This data was published in collaboration with other SERDP funded group: Jones, DK, KA Quinlin, MA Wigren, YJ Choi, MS Sepúlveda, LS Lee, DL Haskins, GR Lotufo, A Kennedy, L May, A Harmon, T Biber, N Melby, MK Chanov, ML Hudson, PB Key, KW Chung, DW Moore, JG Suski, EF Wirth, and JT Hoverman. 2022. Acute toxicity of eight aqueous film-forming foams to 13 aquatic species. Environmental Science & Technology. 56:6078–6090.
![Algae culturing for water fleas](https://www.purdue.edu/fnr/hoverman/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/AcuteToxicity1-1-300x225.png)
![Husbandry tanks for fish](https://www.purdue.edu/fnr/hoverman/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/AcuteToxicity2-300x225.png)
![Fish eggs](https://www.purdue.edu/fnr/hoverman/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/AcuteToxicity3-300x225.png)
![Experimental setup for acute toxicity trials](https://www.purdue.edu/fnr/hoverman/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/AcuteToxicity4-300x225.png)
![Experimental Setup for Acute Toxicity Trials](https://www.purdue.edu/fnr/hoverman/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/AcuteToxicity5-300x225.png)