Fire Suppression Agents Combined with Gasoline in Aquatic Ecosystems: A Mixture Approach.

Daniel, Gabriela; Silva, Ana Rita R; de Souza Abessa, Denis Moledo; Loureiro, Susana

Fire Suppression Agents (FSA) are recommended for extinguishing fires by flammable liquids and frequently end in water bodies, combined with the fuels. There is a lack of toxicity information of these commercial formulations and the effects of mixtures of FSA and fuels. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the toxic effects of different FSA, Gasoline Water Soluble Fraction (GWSF) and mixtures of each FSA and GWSF. Individual tests were performed with Daphnia similis and Artemia sp., the most toxic FSA to D. similis and Artemia sp. were F-500®, Cold Fire®, Agefoam®, and Kidde Sintex® 1%; the GWSF was the less toxic. The concentration addition (CA) model was used to predict the mixture effects and evaluate Synergism/Antagonism, Dose Ratio-dependent (DR) and Dose Level-dependent (DL). Cold Fire® with GWSF showed DL deviation to D. similis, marked mainly by synergism, for Artemia sp. DR pattern was predicted, with synergistic response mainly by Cold Fire®. Agefoam® and GWSF behaved additively for D. similis and DR for Artemia sp., with synergism being caused by Agefoam®. Kidde Sintex® 1% with GWSF were DR for both organisms, with Kidde Sintex® 1% being responsible for synergism. Our results showed that some mixtures of FSA and GWSF may cause toxicity to aquatic organisms, posing risk in a real environmental scenario, such as a major fire combat. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.