Barium titanium trioxide

Short-term toxicity to fish

Description of key information

Read-across; test item: barium chloride dihydrate; Danio rerio; 96 h: LC50 > 152 mg/L BaCl2 (GLP, OECD 203 guideline study, Egeler & Kiefer, 2010). The LC50 for barium titanium trioxide calculated from its molecular weight is therefore higher than 170.22 mg/L .

Key value for chemical safety assessment

Fresh water fish

Fresh water fish

Effect concentration:

170 mg/L

Additional information

Short-term toxicity to fish:

In order to assess the short-term toxicity to fish of the analogous test substance barium chloride dihydrate (purity: > 100.6 weight-%), the test in Danio rerio fish was performed according to the method described in OECD guideline 203 (Egeler & Kiefer, 2010). Nominal dose levels used were: 117 and 178 mg/L test item. This corresponds to 66 and 199 mg/L Ba and 100 and 152 mg/L BaCl2, respectively. The fish were exposed for 96 hours in fresh water under static conditions.

All fish in the test were observed 3 hours, and 1, 2, 3 and 4 days after start of exposure. Any dead fish were recorded and removed from the test vessels. Fish were considered dead if there was no visible movement (e.g. gill movement) and if touching of the caudal peduncle produced no reaction. All fish in the test were observed daily for other than lethal effects: effects on the appearance, size and behaviour of the fish that make them clearly distinguishable from the control animals, e.g. different swimming behaviour, different reaction to external stimuli, changes in appearance of the fish were recorded. However, since the test solutions were milky suspensions, the fish were barely visible, and such observations were only possible when fish were close to the water surface.

There were no behavioural differences to be seen in fish in the treatments compared with the control fish.

The recovery of the test item in the 0.45 µm-filtered test solutions was between 2 and 4% of the nominal concentrations. The characteristics of the test item may have led to a precipitation in the test medium, probably as barium sulfate.

The recovery of the test item in the non-filtered test solutions was between 95 and 100% of the nominal concentrations.

No statistical method was used to evaluate the fish mortalities because no mortality was observed during the test period in the control or the test item treatments.

Mortality in the control: none (required: ≤ 10%, or one out of seven fish)

Dissolved oxygen concentration in control and test vessels: ≥ 105% (required: ≥ 60% of air saturation value (ASV)).

The LC50 (96 h) based on measured concentrations in 0.45 µm-filtered test solutions was higher than 3.5 mg Ba/L.

The LC50 (96 h) based on measured concentrations in 0.45 µm-filtered test solutions was higher than 5.4 mg BaCl2/L.

The LC50 (96 h) based on measured concentrations in non-filtered test solutions was higher than 97.5 mg Ba/L

The LC50 (96 h) based on measured concentrations in non-filtered test solutions was higher than 149 mg BaCl2/L.

The LC50 (96 h) based on nominal concentrations was higher than 152 mg BaCl2/L.

Based on the results above the LC50 (96 h) based on nominal concentrations of the test substance barium chloride dihydrate is > 152 mg/L BaCl2 under the test conditions chosen.

Therefore, based on the results with the analogous test substance the LC50 (96 h) of barium titanium trioxide based on measured concentrations is therefore higher than 165.56 mg/L (calculated from its molecular weight) and based on nominal concentrations of the analogous test substance higher than 170.22 mg/L BaTiO3 under the test conditions chosen.