Deriving hazardous concentrations of phenol in soil ecosystems using a species sensitivity distribution approach.

Abstract Phenol is widely used in many industries, and chemical accidents involving phenol have frequently occurred around the world, resulting in the investigation of phenol toxicity in humans, mammals, and aquatic organisms. However, very few studies have investigated phenol toxicity in terrestrial ecosystems. Therefore, we investigated the acute and chronic toxicity of phenol using various soil organisms, including Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Chlorococcum infusionum, Folsomia candida, Oryza sativa, Raphanus sativus, Pinus densiflora, and Eisenia fetida. The data obtained were used to calculate hazardous concentrations for 5% of species (HC5) for phenol based on a species sensitivity distribution approach. The acute and chronic soil HC5 values for phenol were estimated to be 18.4 and 0.3 mg kg−1, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to conduct battery testing and calculate hazardous concentrations to assess the risk posed by phenol in terrestrial ecosystems. The results can be used to establish standards or strategies to protect terrestrial environments against unintended phenol contamination.