Dialuminium nickel tetraoxide

Ecotoxicological Summary

Additional information

The approach for deriving PNEC values was used in the 2008/2009 European Union Existing Substances Risk Assessment of Nickel (EU RAR) (EEC 793/93). The EU RAR was jointly prepared by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (DEPA), which served as the Rapporteur of the Existing Substances Risk Assessment of Nickel, and the Nickel Producers Environmental Research Association (NiPERA), which represented the Nickel Industry in this process. The complete Environment section of the EU RAR can be found in the pdf linked to the following URL:

 http://ecb.jrc.ec.europa.eu/DOCUMENTS/Existing-Chemicals/RISK_ASSESSMENT/REPORT/nickelreport311.pdf

 

All of the approaches described were discussed by the Technical Committee for New and Existing Substances (TC NES), and received final approval at the TC NES I meeting in April, 2008.

 

Common effects assessment basis:

 

The ecotoxicity databases on the effects of soluble nickel compounds to aquatic, soil- and sediment-dwelling organisms are extensive. It should be noted that the effects assessments of Nickel aluminate is based on the assumption that adverse effects to aquatic, soil- and sediment-dwelling organisms are a consequence of exposure to the bioavailable Ni-ion, as opposed to the parent substances. The result of this assumption is that the ecotoxicology will be similar for all soluble Ni substances used in the ecotoxicity experiments. Therefore, data from soluble nickel substances are used in the derivation of chronic ecotoxicological NOEC and L(E)C10 values. If both NOEC and L(E)C10 data are available for a given species, the L(E)C10 value was used in the effects assessment.

Conclusion on classification

Nickel aluminate is currently not classified for environmental effects according to the 1st ATP of CLP Regulation (EC) 1272/2008. A recent study evaluating the water solubility of Nickel aluminate according to OECD guideline 105, revealed a water solubility of 28.95 µg Ni/L at 21 °C and pH 6 (Paulus 2009). This result indicates that the concentration of total dissolved Ni is lower than the pH 6 acute and pH 8 acute, Ecotoxicity Reference Values (ERVs) for Ni (120 µg Ni/L at pH 6, 68 µg Ni/L at pH 8, respectively). However, the total dissolved Ni concentration of Nickel aluminate is higher than the chronic ERV of 2.4 µg Ni/L. This outcome would trigger an environmental classification of this substance for chronic effects. In order to obtain the real net concentration change in total dissolved Ni for the substance Nickel aluminate, a T/D Protocol (OECD, 2001) is currently ongoing. While no change to the existing classification is proposed within this registration file, the results of the T/D Protocol on Nickel aluminate will be subject to an update dossier under REACh EC No. 1907/2006 in the near future.