Applications and statistical properties of minimum significant difference-based criterion testing in a toxicity testing program

Abstract

As a follow up to the recommendations of the September 1995 SETAC Pellston Workshop on Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) on test methods and appropriate endpoints, this paper will discuss the applications and statistical properties of using a statistical criterion of minimum significant difference (MSD). We examined the upper limits of acceptable MSDs as acceptance criterion in the case of normally distributed data. The implications of this approach are examined in terms of false negative rate as well as false positive rate. Results indicated that the proposed approach has reasonable statistical properties. Reproductive data from short-term chronic WET test with Ceriodaphnia dubia tests were used to demonstrate the applications of the proposed approach. The data were collected by the North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources (Raleigh, NC, USA) as part of their National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System program.