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Ecotoxicological information

Short-term toxicity to aquatic invertebrates

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Description of key information

It is considered scientifically justified to read across from the REACH registration on sodium aluminate (CAS 1302-42-7) to this registration of potassium aluminate (CAS 12003-63-3). Please see attached justification on read across.
In the registration of sodium aluminate further read across to other substances are made for some of the endpoint studies. This read across have been justified by the lead registrant of sodium aluminate in the discussion of this endpoint summary.
All endpoint study records of this section 6.1.3 relate to the registration of sodium aluminate.

Key value for chemical safety assessment

Additional information

No studies on the acute toxicity of sodium aluminate to invertebrates are available. Therefore, a weight of evidence approach is applied and data are read-across to various aluminium compounds based on an analogue approach. A number of studies is available using various aluminium compounds as a source for aluminium.

Although not GLP and no standard guideline was followed the most comprehensive and reliable studies were conducted by CIMM (2009) using aluminium nitrate in tests withDaphnia magnaandCeriodaphnia dubia. Both tests were conducted at three different pH values, i.e. 6, 7, and 8, and by combining with different concentrations of DOC: 0, 2, 3, and 4 mg/L. In addition, in the test withC. dubiathese pHs were combined with three different regimes of water hardness: 10.6, 60 and 120 mg/L as CaCO3. pH values in these tests were adjusted by the use of different synthetic buffers. In the study withD. magnaseven tests were conducted with different sets of parameters. Three test were conducted at pH 6, 7 and 8, with no addition of DOC and within a concentration range of 100 to 500 µg/L nominal. Under the conditions of these tests no acute toxicity toDaphnia magnawas observed. Two test were conducted at pH 8, without addition of DOC and within a nominal concentration range of 400 - 1200 µg/L. In these studies LC50-values ranged between 720.8 and 787.8 µg/L (total Al) and between 389.5 and 414.6 µg/L (dissolved Al). Two further tests at pH 8 and nominal concentrations of 400 - 1200 µg/L were conducted by adding 2 and 3 mg/L DOC. This test design resulted in no mortality toDaphnia magna. In the study withC. dubia 27 tests were conducted with different sets of parameters. Nine tests each were conducted at pH 6, 7 and 8. Tests at each pH were conducted by combination of different water hardness (10.6, 60, and 120 mg/L) and different DOC concentrations (0, 2, and 4 mg/L). Nominal Al concentrations tested ranged from 62.5 to 15000 µg/L. As results, the study recorded the effects observed in mortality (LC) instead of immobility (EC) as usual. Due to low mortalities, no LC50s were determined for the tests performed at pH 7 and pH 8. Only LC50 values at pH 6 are available. LC50 values for total Al were in the range of 71.12 to 10484.2 µg/L, based on dissolved Al LC50s were found to range from 13.5 µg/L to 52 µg/L. There is a clear correlation from the lowest to the highest LC50 values with increasing water hardness and increasing DOC, demonstrating that both parameters contribute to reduce the toxicity of Al to aquatic invertebrates.

Two limit tests were conducted by NIVA (1996a, 1996b) using aluminium oxide and aluminium hydroxide as source chemicals for aluminium. Both tests were conducted according to GLP standards and OECD guideline 202 usingDaphnia magnaas test species. pH in both studies was in the range of 7.8 to 7.9. No mortalities or sublethal effects were observed and EL50s were determined to be >100 mg/L (nominal for Al2O3and Al(OH)3) and EC50s > 71 and > 5 µg/L (dissolved Al for Al2O3 and Al(OH)3).

In a further GLP guideline study by ENSR (1992) aluminium chloride was exposed toC. dubia. Different exposure regimes were pHs of 7.5, 7.6, 7.8, and 8.1 for tests with hardness of 25, 50, 100, 200 mg/L as CaCO3. Resulting LC50s/EC50s based on total Al increased from 0.72 to >99.6 mg/L with increasing hardness and pH, corroborating the findings of the CIMM (2009) studies.

In a series of non-GLP studies and not following a certain protocol Callet al.(1984) examined the toxicity of aluminium chloride to four species of aquatic invertebrates. Tests were conducted at a water hardness of 47.4 mg/L and for the most part at single pH of either 7.68, 7.5, 7.46 or a range of 6.59 to 8.17. Tests withCeriodaphnia spresulted in a LC50/EC50 of 3.6 mg/L total Al at pH of 7.68. The LC50/EC50 forGammarus pseudolimnaeuswas determined to be 22 mg/L at pH 7.5. A NOEC was determined forAcronuriato be >22.6 mg/L at pH 7.46. An LC50 determined in the test conducted withPhysa sp.was 30.6 mg/L at a pH range of 6.59 to 8.17. The studies are considered to be reliable.

Further data from non-GLP and non-guideline studies (RL2) conducted by McCauleyet al.(1986), Kimball (1978), Khangarot & Ray (1989), Biesinger & Christensen (1972), and Martin & Holdich (1986) are available. All these studies report LC50/EC50 values based on total Al well above 1 mg/L, ranging from 1.9 to 59.6 mg/L.