Toxicity and Metabolism of Naphthalene: A Study with Marine Larval Invertebrates

Abstract

[l-14C]Naphthalene and the [l-14C]naphthalene complexed with BSA at 8-12 ppb in flowing sea water produced 100% mortality in 24-36 hr in newly hatched Dungeness crab (Cancer magister) zoea and stage I and V spot shrimp (Pandalus platyceros). Maximum accumulation of [1-14C]naphthalene in the stage V spot shrimp exposed to [l-14C]naphthalene was nearly four times greater than in shrimp exposed to the [l-14C]naphthalene-BSA complex (820 and 220 ppb, respectively). These values represent a magnification of 25-100 times the exposure levels. Metabolic products of [l-14C]naphthalene in larval tissues exposed to the complexed and noncomplexed naphthalene reached a maximum of 21 and 9%, respectively, of the total radioactive compounds (based on the molecular weight of naphthol). [l-14C]Naphthalene was almost entirely depurated from the tissues in 24-36 hr, whereas metabolic products were strongly resistant to depuration.