Lethal and sublethal effects of potash brine on different stages of the lobster, Homarus americanus / G. Charmantier, M. Charmantier-Daures and W. Young-Lai.: Fs97-6/1344E-PDF

"Denison Mine, Sussex, New Brunswick, proposes to discharge a brine, prepared by diluting potash ore in well water, into the Bay of Fundy. To set criteria for the dilution of this brine in seawater (SW), we studied the biological repercussions of different ore concentrations on various developmental stages of the American lobster, Homarus americanus. Acute toxicity bioassays enabled us to calculate the 96 h LC50₈, which at 20°C ranged from 1 to 2 g ore/L SW in larval stages I, II, and III, and 2.25 to 3 g/L in stage IV and juveniles. At 11°C, LC50₈ are roughly similar, except in stage IV, 1.5 to 2.25 g/L. Sublethal bioassays showed that the development from hatch to stage IV was only possible if the concentration was under 1.5 g ore/L SW. Comparative experiments using "Instant Ocean" salts showed that the cause of death is not related to an increase in osmolality of the medium. Other experiments using additions of NAC1 or KC1 showed that the principal toxic agent in the brine was the K⁺. K⁺ titrations in the blood of lobsters which were exposed to different concentrations of ore for different durations indicate that cause of death could be the toxic effect of increased blood K⁺ concentrations"--Abstract, page iii.

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