Aquatic Toxicity

Question:
What is the aquatic toxicity of the surfactant in Liquinox?

Answer:
In order to evaluate proper disposal in compliance with some local regulations, you sometimes need to know the aquatic toxicity of detergents that you might wish to dispose of in to a locally regulated sewerage treatment plant. Liquinox, Alconox, Tergazyme, Citranox, and Alcotabs all contain roughly 5-20% sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate surfactant. The aquatic toxicity for sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate for Phoxinus phoxinus minnow is an LC50 of 5,633 ug/L (lethal concentration for 50% of the population). Using this information, knowing how much detergent you plan to discharge you can determine the concentration of surfactant and what the contribution to aquatic toxicity from the surfactant will be and if it meets the local discharge limits. Typically with normal amounts of detergent discharge, you will find that it is acceptable to discharge the detergent in accordance with your local regulations.