Environmental risk of nickel in aquatic Arctic ecosystems.

The Arctic faces many environmental challenges, including the continued exploitation of its mineral resources such as nickel (Ni). The responsible development of Ni mining in the Arctic requires establishing a risk assessment framework that accounts for the specificities of this unique region. We set out to conduct preliminary assessments of Ni exposure and effects in aquatic Arctic ecosystems.

Considerations for toxicity experiments and risk assessments with PFAS mixtures.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been around for decades and have been the subject of laboratory and field research studies for nearly as long. Although attention to PFAS has grown in recent years, many unanswered questions remain. Accordingly, the number of research projects designed to improve our understanding of PFAS toxicity, bioaccumulation, and biomagnification, and to improve our ability to predict the interactions of PFAS mixtures, is also increasing.

Toxicity of Nanoparticulate Nickel to Aquatic Organisms: Review and Recommendations for Improvement of Toxicity Tests.

We reviewed the literature on toxicity of nanoparticulate nickel (nano-Ni) to aquatic organisms, from the perspective of relevance and reliability in a regulatory framework. Our main findings were 1) much of the published nano-Ni toxicity data is of low or medium quality in terms of reporting key physical-chemical properties, methodologies, and results, compared with published dissolved nickel studies; and 2) based on the available information, some common findings about nanoparticle (NP) toxicity are not supported for nano-Ni. First, we concluded that nanoparticulate elemental nickel and nickel oxide, which differ in chemical composition, generally did not differ in their toxicity.

A Mystery Tale: Nickel Is Fickle When Snails Fail-Investigating the Variability in Ni Toxicity to the Great Pond Snail.

Dissolved Ni concentrations inhibiting the growth of juvenile great pond snails (Lymnaea stagnalis) have been documented to vary from about 1 to 200 µg L Ni. This variability makes L. stagnalis either a moderately sensitive or the most sensitive freshwater species to chronic Ni exposure tested to date.