Assessment of the toxic potential of PCB congener 81 (3,4,4′,5-tetrachlorobiphenyl) to fish in relation to other non-ortho-substituted pcb congeners

Abstract PCB congener 81 (3,4,4′,5-tetrachlorobiphenyl) has been detected in fish tissues from various sites in North America. The embryotoxicity of this compound to medaka (Oryzias latipes) and the induction of hepatic aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were determined to assess the toxic potency of this compound relative to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and two other non-ortho-substituted PCB compounds, congener 77 (3,3′,4,4′-tetrachlorobiphenyl) and congener 126 (3,3′,4,4′,5-pentachlorobiphenyl). The TCDD toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) estimated for congener 81 from two end points in the medaka embryotoxicity assay were 0.0014 (from mortality data) and 0.006 (from swim bladder inflation data). The TEF estimated for congener 81 from data on AHH induction in rainbow trout was 0.004. All TEFs were greater than those estimated for congener 77 but were less than the TEFs estimated for congener 126. On the basis of these toxicity data, it is suggested that this congener may contribute significantly to the toxic burden of planar halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons in fish.