AMMONIUM SULFATE CAS N°: 7783-20-2

OECD SIDS
AMMONIUM SULFATE
For freshwater fish, the greatest sensitivity to ammonium sulfate was shown by alevins of
Oncorhynchus gorbuscha before complete yolk absorption, with effects on the length and weight of
fry at migration seen at a LOEC (61 d) of 22 mg/l (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 (calculated from 2.4 ppb NH 3 ). The
associated NOEC (61 d) is 11 mg/l (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 (calculated from 1.2 ppb NH 3 ) (Rice and Bailey,
1980). Exposure of the catfish Channa punctatus to commercial ammonium sulfate fertilizer at
100 mg/l showed significant effect on ovarian growth, and also on testicular development, where
spermatogenesis did not process beyond the spermatocyte stage, and sperm was totally absent. In
this experiment correlative histological changes were also observed in the pituitary gonadotrophes
(Ram and Sathyanesan, 1986, 1987).
Table 6 Toxicity of ammonium sulfate to fish in long term tests
Species
Pimephales
promelas
(fresh water)
Pimephales
promelas
(fresh water)
Oncorhynchus
gorbuscha
(fresh water)
Channa
punctatus
(fresh water)
Channa
punctatus
(fresh water)
Clarias
batrachus
Test
Type
Flow
through
Flow
through
Flow
through
Semistatic
Semistatic
Semistati
c
Exposure
Period
pH
Temp.
[° C]
Effect, mg (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 /l
10 days 7.3 20 ± 1 Length and weight of young
fish:
NOEC = 300
LOEC = 531
10 days 7.2 20 ± 1 Length and weight of young
fish:
NOEC = 603
LOEC= 1021
61 days 6.3-
6.5
3.7-4.8 Length and weight of fry at
migration.
NOEC = 11
LOEC= 22
6 months 7.2 20 to 35 Ovarian growth
LOEC: 100 mg/l:
6 months 7.2 Testicular development:
LOEC: 100 mg/l
Reference
Nebeker and
Schuytema, 2000
Nebeker and
Schuytema, 2000
Rice and Bailey,
1980
Ram and
Sathyanesan,
1986
Ram and
Sathyanesan,
1987
12 month 7 LOEC = 100 mg/l Sathyanesan AG
et al., 1978
No data is available for chronic toxicity to invertebrates.
Chronic toxicity to algae is discussed together with acute toxicity above.
Toxicity to Aquatic Species Conclusions
Freshwater Environment
Information on acute toxicity in aquatic freshwater systems is available from all three trophic levels,
fish, invertebrates, and algae. Fish are the most sensitive trophic level, with the most sensitive
species being juvenile Salmo gairdneri (Thurston and Russo, 1983), with an LC 50 (96 h) of ca.
173 mg/l. For invertebrates, the lowest LC 50 (24 h)of 393 mg/l is observed for juveniles of the
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