Toxicity studies on the components of an oil-spill emulsifier using Lichina pygmaea and Xanthoria parietina

Previous work on lichens suggested that the toxic component of the oil-spill emulsifier BP 1002 might be the surfactant rather than the solvent, to which toxicity is usually attributed. The effect of the emulsifier on both Lichina pygmaea and Xanthoria parietina (measured by reduced total photosynthetic ¹⁴C-fixation and enhanced loss of labelled material from the lichen) was shown to be mainly due to Surfactant B (coconut fatty diethanolamide) altering the permeability of the algal cell membranes. Surfactant A (nonylphenol ethylene oxide condensate) was less inhibitory but, by comparison with the response of free-living algae to the emulsifier, induced both leakiness and lysis of the blue-green algal cells in L. pygmaea. Pure solvent slightly reduced total ¹⁴C-fixation without altering the pattern of ¹⁴C-fixation. Observations on pigment removal showed the solvent to be capable of removing only the extra-cellular pigment parietin; Surfactant B induced loss of lipid- and water-soluble intracellular pigments.