The derivation of seawater quality criteria and ecological risk assessment of Tonalide

AHTN (Tonalide) is one of the extensively utilized polycyclic musks (PMs), frequently detected in water ecosystem. It has detrimental impacts on aquatic life, posing a potential threat to marine ecosystems. Therefore, establishing water quality criteria (WQC) for AHTN is paramount for effectively controlling AHTN pollution. In this research, toxicity examinations are performed on organisms from typical five phyla and eight families along the coast of China. The results show that the Litopenaeus vannamei was the most sensitive species to AHTN, while the Chlorella vulgaris is the least sensitive. The short-term water quality criteria (SWQC) and the long-term water quality criteria (LWQC) derived from the species sensitivity distribution (SSD) method are 15 μg/L and 2 μg/L, respectively. These values are below freshwater WQC of AHTN, indicating that freshwater organisms are not as sensitive as marine organisms. A comparison of three polycyclic musks reveal that AHTN exhibits greater toxicity to marine life compared to galaxolide (HHCB) and celestolide (ADBI), with the AHTN and HHCB ratio ranging from 0.15 to 0.8, and the musk concentration in Europe exceeds that of other regions. Finally, the ecological risk assessment results indicate that 78 % of the study areas are categorized as no risk. Spain and Germany are identified at a low ecological risk level. 10 % of aquatic organisms have a low risk of harm in the current 90 % seawater environment. Overall, We should continue monitoring the presence of AHTN in aquatic ecosystems and assess its potential impacts, striving to mitigate its potential risks and maintain the health of water environments.