Registration Dossier

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Please be aware that this old REACH registration data factsheet is no longer maintained; it remains frozen as of 19th May 2023.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

Additional information on environmental fate and behaviour

Administrative data

Endpoint:
additional information on environmental fate and behaviour
Type of information:
other: Published data
Adequacy of study:
weight of evidence
Reliability:
2 (reliable with restrictions)
Rationale for reliability incl. deficiencies:
study well documented, meets generally accepted scientific principles, acceptable for assessment
Justification for type of information:
According to the OECD SIDS document for potassium hydroxide (30 January 2002), a Klimisch 2 reliability score was assigned since the study is well documented, meets generally accepted scientific principles and is acceptable for assessment.

Data source

Reference
Reference Type:
review article or handbook
Title:
Industrial Inorganic Chemicals and Products
Author:
Ullmann
Year:
1998
Bibliographic source:
Ullmann's Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, p 3831

Materials and methods

Principles of method if other than guideline:
The study is well documented, meets generally accepted scientific principles and is acceptable for assessment.
GLP compliance:
not specified

Test material

Constituent 1
Chemical structure
Reference substance name:
Potassium hydroxide
EC Number:
215-181-3
EC Name:
Potassium hydroxide
Cas Number:
1310-58-3
Molecular formula:
HKO
IUPAC Name:
potassium hydroxide

Results and discussion

Any other information on results incl. tables

With a global potash production of 29.341.000 tons K2O, or 24.357.391 tons K in 1989, and an estimated potassium hydroxide production that not exceeded 800.000 tons that year, or 557.476 tons K (Ullmann, 1998), and taking into account that no more than 11% of the K from potassium hydroxide could be discharged to the environment (see section 3.5 Identified Uses and exposure scenarios: 5% wide dispersive use + 6% in alkaline batteries; the rest is transformed in industrial uses; personal communnication from Occidental Chem. Corp. in 2000), not more than 61.322 tons K coming directly from potassium hydroxide reaches the environment, or 0.25% of the total anthropogenic potassium.

Applicant's summary and conclusion

Conclusions:
Production of potassium hydoxide results in release of potassium which is negligable in comparison of the global anthropogenic potassium.