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From High-Tech To High-Risk? Unveiling the Acute Ecotoxicological Effects of Rare Earth Elements on Daphnia magna

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Technological advancement has brought significant environmental challenges, as its associated waste is difficult to manage and its long-term effects on ecosystems and biota remains uncertain. This study aimed to evaluate the acute toxicity of rare earth elements (REEs): lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium, scandium, and yttrium on the standard aquatic species Daphnia magna through a toxicity screening approach. Based on EC 50 values, the most toxic element was yttrium (EC 50 = 7.2 mg L −1 ), followed by scandium, dysprosium, europium, lutetium, neodymium, holmium, gadolinium, ytterbium, thulium, terbium, samarium, cerium, and lanthanum (10 > EC 50 < 100) identified as harmful, and praseodymium classified as non-toxic with an EC 50 above 100 mg L −1 (130.81 mg L −1 ). This study demonstrates that all REEs, except praseodymium, induce acute effects in D. magna using ASTM as a culture medium. The results also highlight the need for standardized screening studies to obtain reliable data for both predictive and retrospective environmental risk features.

Source: Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology

DOI: 10.1007/s00128-025-04044-7

Authors: Ivo Pinto, Bruno Henriques, Thainara Viana, Rosa Freitas, Eduarda Pereira, Sara C. Antunes