Toxicity to medaka of solutions of fenitrothion degraded by strong alkali

Various experiments were conducted to examine the effects of degradation products on organisms. Fenitrothion (MEP) emulsions adjusted to pH 10 or 14 were degraded by exposure to natural sunlight in winter with heat. Medaka eggs were exposed to various concentrations of the degraded solutions and an untreated MEP emulsion for 5 days starting 4-5 h following fertilisation. The eggs were then allowed to develop in dechlorinated tap water until the fish reached 3 months of age. The hatching rate and rate of survival in the degraded solutions tended to be lower than those in the untreated MEP emulsion, and the incidence of abnormal fry in the degraded solutions was higher than that of the untreated MEP emulsion. It thus appears that degradation products formed by MEP have toxic effects on medaka.