Uptake, elimination, and biotransformation of the lampricide 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM) by larvae of the aquatic midge Chironomus tentans.

Accumulation of [14C]3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol ([14C]TFM) by chironomid larvae from sublethal aqueous concentrations is rapid and dependent on hardness of exposure water. TFM is readily biotransformed to at least two more polar derivatives, including sulfated TFM and TFM-glucuronide or galacturonide. Some TFM is also reduced to the phenol amine. Chironomids can quickly eliminate all TFM derivatives as well as the parent [14C]TFM.