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Please be aware that this old REACH registration data factsheet is no longer maintained; it remains frozen as of 19th May 2023.

The new ECHA CHEM database has been released by ECHA, and it now contains all REACH registration data. There are more details on the transition of ECHA's published data to ECHA CHEM here.

Diss Factsheets

Ecotoxicological information

Sediment toxicity

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Administrative data

Link to relevant study record(s)

Description of key information

No sediment toxicity data are available with the registered substance.  

Key value for chemical safety assessment

Additional information

In accordance with Column 2 of REACH Annex IX, there is no need to further investigate the effects of this substance in long-term sediment toxicity studies because:

Citric acid is highly water soluble and has a negative log Kow value. Therefore, it is not expected to be taken up and accumulated by sediment organisms. In addition, citric acid is rapidly degradable.

Due to its nature as a complexing agent, citric acid may have potential to adsorb to sediment and soil. However, if citric acid is released to water, the probability of its partition into other environmental compartments is expected to be low due to the ready degradability of the substance.

Citric acid is naturally occurring in sediment organisms and is a key intermediate in the metabolic pathways of most organisms. Low toxicity was observed in short-term aquatic tests and the occurrence of more severe toxic effects in the sediment compartment that were not expressed in the aquatic studies is considered unlikely.

Overall, it is concluded that the risk characterisation conclusion is sufficiently conservative in respect of any uncertainties and therefore further testing is not considered necessary.

Testing is not considered necessary because:

  • The substance is of low toxicity to aquatic organisms.
  • The substance is naturally occurring in sediment organisms.
  • The substance has a negative log Kow value and is therefore not expected to be taken up and accumulated by sediment organisms and it is also readily biodegradable, therefore partition to the sediment compartment is expected to be negligible.

The attached report "189 06 Citric acid and Citrate Salts - Metabolism and Toxicity 20100618.pdf" summarises the TCA cycle and presents data on the amounts citric acid found in plants and animals.