Registration Dossier
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EC number: 266-028-2 | CAS number: 65996-93-2 The residue from the distillation of high temperature coal tar. A black solid with an approximate softening point from 30°C to 180°C (86°F to 356°F). Composed primarily of a complex mixture of three or more membered condensed ring aromatic hydrocarbons.
- Life Cycle description
- Uses advised against
- Endpoint summary
- Appearance / physical state / colour
- Melting point / freezing point
- Boiling point
- Density
- Particle size distribution (Granulometry)
- Vapour pressure
- Partition coefficient
- Water solubility
- Solubility in organic solvents / fat solubility
- Surface tension
- Flash point
- Auto flammability
- Flammability
- Explosiveness
- Oxidising properties
- Oxidation reduction potential
- Stability in organic solvents and identity of relevant degradation products
- Storage stability and reactivity towards container material
- Stability: thermal, sunlight, metals
- pH
- Dissociation constant
- Viscosity
- Additional physico-chemical information
- Additional physico-chemical properties of nanomaterials
- Nanomaterial agglomeration / aggregation
- Nanomaterial crystalline phase
- Nanomaterial crystallite and grain size
- Nanomaterial aspect ratio / shape
- Nanomaterial specific surface area
- Nanomaterial Zeta potential
- Nanomaterial surface chemistry
- Nanomaterial dustiness
- Nanomaterial porosity
- Nanomaterial pour density
- Nanomaterial photocatalytic activity
- Nanomaterial radical formation potential
- Nanomaterial catalytic activity
- Endpoint summary
- Stability
- Biodegradation
- Bioaccumulation
- Transport and distribution
- Environmental data
- Additional information on environmental fate and behaviour
- Ecotoxicological Summary
- Aquatic toxicity
- Endpoint summary
- Short-term toxicity to fish
- Long-term toxicity to fish
- Short-term toxicity to aquatic invertebrates
- Long-term toxicity to aquatic invertebrates
- Toxicity to aquatic algae and cyanobacteria
- Toxicity to aquatic plants other than algae
- Toxicity to microorganisms
- Endocrine disrupter testing in aquatic vertebrates – in vivo
- Toxicity to other aquatic organisms
- Sediment toxicity
- Terrestrial toxicity
- Biological effects monitoring
- Biotransformation and kinetics
- Additional ecotoxological information
- Toxicological Summary
- Toxicokinetics, metabolism and distribution
- Acute Toxicity
- Irritation / corrosion
- Sensitisation
- Repeated dose toxicity
- Genetic toxicity
- Carcinogenicity
- Toxicity to reproduction
- Specific investigations
- Exposure related observations in humans
- Toxic effects on livestock and pets
- Additional toxicological data

Endpoint summary
Administrative data
Description of key information
No experimental repeated-dose data is available on pitch itself. A structure-related coal-tar material produced no particular, treatment-related toxicity in male and female mice receiving the test material in the feed for up to 6 months. The NOAEL, 0.5 % in the diet, is estimated to correspond to approximately 400 mg/kg bw/d. Early not verifiable reports indicate that young pigs may have a significant lower tolerance to ingested coal-tar pitch or coal tar than the adult animals.
Key value for chemical safety assessment
Repeated dose toxicity: via oral route - systemic effects
Endpoint conclusion
- Endpoint conclusion:
- adverse effect observed
- Dose descriptor:
- NOAEL
- 400 mg/kg bw/day
- Study duration:
- subchronic
- Species:
- rat
Additional information
Apart from one oral study of limited significance in pigs, no repeated-dose toxicity studies with pitch addressing effects other than carcinogenicity have been located. The subchronic feeding study in mice with coal-tar material (compared to pitch a worst case) indicates that more marked toxicity following long-term exposure to pitch is unlikely to occur.
Tars and pitches constitute a family of products that result from different distillation steps of coal (condensation products and distillation residues). Depending on distillation step and distillation temperature, constituents of the products and their portions are variable. But major components of all the distillation products and residues are condensed ring aromatic hydrocarbons in varying composition (i.e. polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons). Major toxicological effects of these products will primarily be caused by the PAH fraction in the respective substances. Especially for toxicological endpoints that fall into the toxicological action profile of PAH, it is justified to use related tars and pitches as supporting substances to characterise potential effects of pitch, coal tar, high temp.
Repeated dose toxicity: via oral route - systemic effects (target organ) digestive: liver
Justification for classification or non-classification
Pitch is not classifiable, as there was no evidence for specific target-organ effects at doses lower than 100 mg/kg bw/d (test material: coal tar).
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