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Please be aware that this old REACH registration data factsheet is no longer maintained; it remains frozen as of 19th May 2023.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

Ecotoxicological information

Endpoint summary

Administrative data

Description of key information

Additional information

Diamond, covalent cubic crystal structured carbon, is an inorganic solid with a high chemical inertness. It does not noticeably react with oxygen below 600 °C, is completely inert against all known acids and is insoluble in water (see section 4.8 of the IUCLID dossier) and organic solvents. Due to its inherent physical-chemical properties diamond is assumed to show environmental behaviour similar to sand or gravel and not to be bioavailable. Furthermore, diamond is not degradable or biodegradable in water. Diamond does not cross biological membranes. This is supported by the negative results of the studies on acute toxicity to fish (see section 6.1.1 of the IUCLID dossier) and on acute toxicity to daphnia (sees section 6.1.3 of the IUCLID dossier). In both studies the NOEL for diamond was determined to be > 100 mg/L, confirming that diamond does not pose toxicological risks for aquatic organisms. The negative results of an in vitro Cytotoxicity Assay (see section 7.12 of the IUCLID dossier) and the absence of cytotoxic effects in a pre-incubation test (Ames Test) with several Salmonella typhimurium strains (see section 7.6.1 of the IUCLID dossier) performed with an extract of diamond powder (200 g/L) underline the conclusion that diamond is not bioavailable due to its insolubility in water.

Production, handling and use of diamond only take place at a small number of industrial sites without releases of diamond to the environment or to waste water streams under reasonably foreseeable conditions of use. The use pattern of diamond does not indicate significant releases to the environment from products. Therefore, significant exposure of the aquatic compartment is unlikely. Even if accidental exposure of the aquatic compartment occurs, diamond is not bioavailable due to its inherent properties, excluding a toxicological risk for aquatic animals. Due to diamond being insoluble in water, production, handling and use of diamond do not pose a toxicological risk for the aquatic compartment. Furthermore, environmental exposure by diamond in a concentration sufficient to cause adverse effects is impossible under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use.