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Please be aware that this old REACH registration data factsheet is no longer maintained; it remains frozen as of 19th May 2023.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

Environmental fate & pathways

Biodegradation in water and sediment: simulation tests

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Link to relevant study record(s)

Description of key information

Biodegradation in water and sediment is not an applicable endpoint for lead.  According to Column 2 of REACH Annex VII, the Ready Biodegradation Test does not need to be conducted if the substance is inorganic.

Key value for chemical safety assessment

Additional information

Annex VIII states that "Further degradation testing shall be considered if the chemical safety assessment according to Annex I indicates the need to investigate further the degradation of the substance. The choice of the appropriate test(s) will depend on the results of the chemical safety assessment."

Waiving of the need for data for this endpoint in the aquatic compartment (water and sediment) may be considered if “The substance is highly insoluble in water”, or if “The substance is readily biodegradable” (ECHA 2008, Chapter R.7B – Endpoint Specific Guidance).

However, for an inorganic substance for which the chemical assessment is based on the elemental concentration (i.e., pooling all inorganic speciation forms together), biotic degradation is an irrelevant process: biotic processes may alter the speciation form of an element, but it will not eliminate the element from the aquatic compartment by degradation or transformation. This elemental-based assessment (pooling all speciation forms together) can be considered as a worst-case assumption for the chemical assessment.