Tetradecanol

Short-term toxicity to aquatic invertebrates

Link to relevant study record(s)

Reference

Endpoint:

short-term toxicity to aquatic invertebrates

Type of information:

experimental study

Adequacy of study:

key study

Study period:

1994-09-19 to 1994-09-24

Reliability:

2 (reliable with restrictions)

Rationale for reliability incl. deficiencies:

guideline study with acceptable restrictions

Remarks:

The study was conducted according to the appropriate OECD test guideline, but it was not conducted in compliance with GLP and no analytical monitoring was carried out.

Qualifier:

according to guideline

Guideline:

OECD Guideline 202 (Daphnia sp. Acute Immobilisation Test)

Deviations:

yes

Remarks:

no analytical monitoring

Qualifier:

according to guideline

Guideline:

ISO 6341 (Water quality - Determination of the Inhibition of the Mobility of Daphnia magna Straus (Cladocera, Crustacea))

Version / remarks:

1996

Deviations:

yes

Remarks:

no analytical monitoring

GLP compliance:

not specified

Analytical monitoring:

not specified

Vehicle:

no

Details on test solutions:

PREPARATION AND APPLICATION OF TEST SOLUTION (especially for difficult test substances)

- Method: A stock solution with a nominal concentration of 100 mg/L was prepared using Elendt M7. A 260 mg sample of test substance was dispersed in distilled water with sonication at 50 degrees C.

- Evidence of undissolved material (e.g. precipitate, surface film, etc): Particulate 1-tetradecanol was observed in the test media at the highest test concentration and debris (assumed to be test material) was observed adsorbed to Daphnids at all concentrations above 0.1 mg/L. Some Daphnids were observed in the surface layer, at all concentrations of 1-tetradecanol. Such observations are common when testing poorly soluble chemicals close to or above their water solubility limit.

Test organisms (species):

Daphnia magna

Details on test organisms:

TEST ORGANISM

- Source: not reported

- Age at study initiation (mean and range, SD): <24 h old

- Method of breeding: not reported

- Feeding during test: no


ACCLIMATION

- Acclimation period: not reported

Test type:

semi-static

Water media type:

freshwater

Limit test:

no

Total exposure duration:

48 h

Hardness:

149 as CaCO3 mg/l

Test temperature:

19.3

pH:

7.4

Dissolved oxygen:

8.8 mg/l

Nominal and measured concentrations:

Nominal concentrations: 0.0, 0.032, 0.1, 0.32, 1.0, 3.2 and 10.0 mg/L tetradecanol

Details on test conditions:

TEST SYSTEM

- Test vessel: dishes

- Material, size, headspace, fill volume: Each exposure vessel (120 mL crystallising dish) was filled with approximately 100 mL test medium

- Aeration: none

- No. of organisms per vessel: 10

- No. of vessels per concentration (replicates): 2

- No. of vessels per control (replicates): 2


TEST MEDIUM / WATER PARAMETERS

- Source/preparation of dilution water: not reported

- Culture medium different from test medium: not reported

- Intervals of water quality measurement: daily


OTHER TEST CONDITIONS

- Adjustment of pH: not reported

- Photoperiod: 16 h light, 8 h dark

- Light intensity: not reported


EFFECT PARAMETERS MEASURED (with observation intervals if applicable) : immobility was determined every 24 h


TEST CONCENTRATIONS

- Spacing factor for test concentrations: 0.3

- Range finding study: not reported

Reference substance (positive control):

not specified

Key result

Duration:

48 h

Dose descriptor:

EC50

Effect conc.:

3.2 mg/L

Nominal / measured:

nominal

Conc. based on:

act. ingr.

Basis for effect:

mobility

Remarks on result:

other: non-toxic at the solubility limit

Details on results:

- Mortality of control: 0%

- Effect concentrations exceeding solubility of substance in test medium: yes. Several of the test concentrations exceeded the water solubility of 1-tetradecanol, 0.19 mg/L

Reported statistics and error estimates:

The 48-hour EC50 based on nominal concentrations was 4 mg/L (75% immobility observed at the highest concentration).

Table 1. Summary of immortalities.

Nominal concentration (mg/l)	% immobility
	24 h	48 h
0	0	0
0.032	0	0
0.1	0	0
0.32	0	0
1.0	0	10
3.2	0	50
10	20	75

The Authors of the report remarked: "Given the likely influence of particulate test substance on the Daphnia, this result should be used with caution."

Validity criteria fulfilled:

yes

Conclusions:

A reliable EC50 value of 3.2 mg/l has been determined for the effects of tetradecanol on the immobility of the freshwater invertebrate D. magna. The effects seen need to be treated with caution because the formation of droplets in most of the test concentrations. However in the range of the limit of solubility (0.19 mg/l) only 10% mortalities were observed, therefore the EC50 is >Limit of Solubility.

Description of key information

Short-term toxicity to invertebrates: 48 h EC50: 3.2 mg/l (nominal concentration) for the effects of the test substance on mobility of Daphnia magna, i.e. >LoS (guideline OECD 202).

Additional information

A 48 h EC₅₀ value of 3.2 mg/l has been determined for the effects of tetradecanol on immobility of the freshwater invertebrate Daphnia magna (Unilever, 1995).

The effects seen need to be treated with caution because of the formation of droplets in most of the test concentrations. However in the range of the limit of solubility (0.19 mg/l) only 10% mortalities were observed, therefore it may be said that tetradecanol is not toxic at its limit of solubility.

This represents the lowest experimental value available for this endpoint for tetradecanol.

A reliable short-term toxicity to invertebrates QSAR prediction has determined the EC₅₀ value to be 0.18 mg/l (Fisk et al., 2009). This value is closer to the limit of water solubility of C14 than the experimental data value.

The predicted data for linear long-chain aliphatic alcohols (LCAAs) suggest a toxicity cut-off for linear LCAAs with carbon numbers >C14. The experimental short-term toxicity data with D. magna instead indicates that the cut-off should be ≥C14, where the 48 h EC50 is >LoS (Unilever 1995, rel. 2). This discrepancy is likely to have risen because the tetradecan-1-ol prediction (0.18 mg/L) is around the measured water solubility for C14 (0.19 mg/L). At and around a water solubility value for any LCAAs the actual amount that is in solution fluctuates, meaning that physical fouling is possible and that predictions of EC50 values around these figures should be used with caution. Furthermore, the prediction for a chain length that is close to a toxicity cut-off, such as C14, is subject to more uncertainty than predictions for chain lengths away from the cut-off value.

Discussion of trends in the Category of C6-24 linear and essentially-linear aliphatic alcohols:

Linear LCAAs

The data presented in the table below show the toxicity of the linear LCAAs to increase from an EC₅₀ of 200 mg/L for C6 to 0.77 mg/L for C12. Effects have also been observed in tests with C13 and C14 LCAAs but at concentrations that exceeded the solubility of the alcohols. Although not explicitly identified in the test reports, physical effects (rather than true toxicity) cannot therefore be excluded from the interpretation of the results for these two LCAAs. In the Unilever (1994) study with C14 the authors have recorded that the test substance adhered to the daphnids at concentrations higher than the water solubility of 1-tetradecanol. This indicates that physical fouling is likely to have caused the effects seen at the EC₅₀ value of 4 mg/L.

 

The lowest reliable short-term EC/LC₅₀ values for invertebrates exposed to linear LCAAs are presented in the following table.

Table: Key studies for invertebrate short-term toxicity studies on single carbon chain length linear LCAAs.

CAS #	Chemical name	Comment	Water solubility (mg/L)	Species	Method/ Guideline	Exposure regime	Endpoint	Value (mg/L)^1	Reliability code	Reference
111-27-3	1-Hexanol		5900 at 20°C	Daphnia magna	Not specified	Static	24 h EC50	200 (n)	2	Bringmann and Kuhn, 1982
111-70-6	1-Heptanol	SUPPORTING	1300 at 20°C	D. magna	Not specified	Static	24 h EC50	82 (n)	2	Bringmann and Kuhn, 1982
111-87-5	1-Octanol		550 at 25°C	D. magna	Not specified	Static	24 h EC50	20 (n)	2	Bringmann and Kuhn, 1982
143-08-8	1-Nonanol		130 at 20°C	Nitocra spinipes (brackish)	Not specified	Static	96 h EC50	25 (n)	2	Bengtsson, Renberg, and Tarkpea, 1984
112-30-1	1-Decanol		40 mg/L at 20°C	N. spinipes (brackish)	Not specified	Static	96 h EC50	3.1 (n)	2	Bengtsson, Renberg, and Tarkpea, 1984
68516-18-7	Decene, hydroformylation products	Supporting.hydroformylation product (=C11)	No data	D. magna	EPA 1975	Static	48 h LC50	4.2 (n)	2	Burgess and Forbis, 1983b
112-42-5	1-Undecanol		8.0 at 20°C	N.spinipes (brackish)	Not specified	Static	96 h LC50	0.8-1.1 (n)	2	Bengtsson, Renberg, and Tarkpea, 1984
112-53-8	1-Dodecanol		1.9 at 20°C	D. magna	DIN 38412	Static	48 h EC50	0.77 (n)	2	Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology, 1997
112-72-1	1-Tetradecanol		0.19 at 25°C	D. magna	Not specified	Not specified	48 h EC50	3.2 (>LoS)	2	Unilever, 2010

Notes:

¹>LoS: LC₅₀ observed was greater than the limit of solubility (n) based on nominal concentrations, (m) based on measured concentrations.

SUPPORTING denotes that the substance is not for registration but the data are used to support the category

Multi-constituents LCAAs

The data presented in the table below show the multi-constituent substances containing LCAAs with carbon numbers in the ranges of C7-9 to C12-15 to exert short-term toxicity at concentrations of between 0.23 and 30 mg/L. At these concentrations it is likely that all constituents will have been fully dissolved. The short-term EC₅₀ of the C14-15 LCAAs to aquatic invertebrate was determined to be above the limit of solubility of the substance.

For the C12-14 and C12-18 multi-constituent substances there was evidence of toxic effects in tests conducted on test media prepared as water-accommodated fractions at loading rates that exceeded the solubility of some constituents. For the C16-18 substance there was evidence of effects in test media that could have contained undissolved test material. The possibility of physical effects (rather than true toxicity) contributing to the observed effects were not discussed in the test report but cannot be excluded.

 

The lowest reliable short-term EC/LC₅₀ values for invertebrates exposed to multi-constituent LCAAs are presented in the following table.

Table: Invertebrate short-term toxicity studies on mixed carbon chain length (multi-constituent) LCAAs (species are freshwater unless noted otherwise).

CAS #	Chemical name	Comment	Water solubility (mg/L)	Species	Method/ Guideline^2	Exposure regime	Endpoint	Value (mg/L)^3	Reliability code	Reference
	Alcohols, C7-9	SUPPORTING	510 mg/L at a loading rate of 1000 mg/L (estimated)	Daphnia magna	OECD 202	Semi-static	48 h EC50	5.9	1	Fraunhofer Institute, (2005e)
Mixture of 68527-05-9 and 70955-11-2-	Mixture of hexane and octene hydroformylation products	i.e. alcohols, C7-9 SUPPORTING	No data	D. magna	EPA 1975	Static	48 h LC50	30 (n)	2	Burgess and Forbis, 1983c
68515-81-1	Nonanol, branched and linear	Read-across from C9	121 (estimated)	Nitocra spinipes(brackish)	Not specified	Static	96 h EC50	25 (n)	2	Bengtsson, Renberg, and Tarkpea, 1984
66455-17-2	Alcohols, C9-11	SUPPORTING	44 at a loading rate of 1000 mg/L. (estimated)	D. magna	Not specified	Static	48 h EC50	7 (n)	2	Shell Research Limited, 1983
66455-17-2	Alcohols, C9-11	SUPPORTING	44 at a loading rate of 1000 mg/L. (estimated)	Crangon crangon(marine)	UK MAFF	Semi-static	96 h LC50	4.6 (n)	2	Huntingdon Life Sciences Ltd. 1991a.
66455-17-2	Alcohols, C9-11	SUPPORTING	44 at a loading rate of 1000 mg/L. (estimated)	Daphnia magna	Not specified	Static	48 h EC50	8.5 (not specified)	2	Shell Research Limited, 1982
	Alcohols, C9-11 (odd numbered), branched and linear		26.04 at 20°C	Daphnia magna	OECD 202	Semi-static	48 h EC50	0.39 (m)	1	Hydrotox, 2017
Mixture of 68516-18-7, 68527-05-9 and 70955-11-2-	Mixture of octane and decene hydroformylation products	SUPPORTING	No data	D. magna	EPA 1975	Static	48 h LC50	11 (n)	2	Burgess and Forbis, 1983d
90342-32-8	Decanol, branched and linear	Read-across from C10	26.17 at 20°C	N. spinipes(brackish)	Not specified	Static	96 h EC50	3.1 (n)	2	Bengtsson, Renberg, and Tarkpea, 1984
128973-77-3	Undecanol, branched and linear   Reaction mass of 2-methyldecan-1-ol and 2-propyloctan-1-ol and 2-ethylnonan-1-ol and 2-butylheptan-1-ol	Read-across from C11	6.3 at 25°C	N. spinipes(brackish)	Not specified	Static	96 h LC50	0.8-1.1 (n)	2	Bengtsson, Renberg, and Tarkpea, 1984
740817-83-8	Alcohols, C12-13-branched and linear		2.4 at 25^oC	D. magna	OECD 202 WAF	Static	48 h EL50	0.23(n)	1	Shell, 2000a
75782-87-5	Alcohols, C12-13		2.4 at 25^oC	C. crangon(marine)	UK MAFF	Semi-static	96 h LC50	>10 (n) (>LoS)	2	Huntingdon Life Sciences Ltd. 1991b.
740817-83-8	Alcohols, C12-13-branched and linear		2.9-3.1 at 20°C	D. magna	OECD 202 WAF	Static	48 h EL50	2.8 (n)	1	TNO, 2000b
80206-82-2	Alcohols, C 12-14	Type A SUPPORTING	4.6 predicted at 1000 mg/L loading rate	D. magna	EU 92/69/EWG WAF	Static	48 h EL50	63 (n) (>LoS)	1	Henkel, 1998b
90604-40-3	Alcohols, C12-15-branched and linear		0.80 at 20°C	D. magna	OECD 202 WAF	Static	48 h EL50	<1.0 (n) <0.2 (m)	1	Shell, 2001a
67762-25-8	Alcohols, C 12-18	Type A SUPPORTING	1.7 predicted at 100 mg/L loading rate	D. magna	EU 92/69/EWG	Static	48 h EL50	40 (n) (>LoS)	1	Henkel, 1998a
68002-94-8	Alcohols, C 16-18 and 18 Unsaturated	SUPPORTING	0.044 predicted at 1000 mg/L loading rate	D. magna	EU Guideline 92/69/EWG	Static	48 h EC50	70 (n) (>LoS)	2	Henkel KGaA. 1995.

Notes:

¹Compositional Types are described in section 1.5 of the ecotoxicity category report.

²WAF denotes test medium was a water-accommodated fraction

³>LoS: EC₅₀ observed was greater than the limit of solubility of at least some constituents of the substance. (n) based on nominal concentrations, (m) based on measured concentrations.

SUPPORTING denotes that the substance is not for registration but the data are used to support the category

n/a denotes not applicable

The data for nonanol, branched and linear, decanol branched and linear, decanol branched and undecanol branched and reaction mass of 2-methyldecan-1-ol and 2-propyloctan-1-ol and 2-ethylnonan-1-ol and 2-butylheptan-1-ol alcohols have been read-across from their linear LCAAs counterparts (C9, C10 and C11) since they are essentially linear LCAAs.

The measured data do not permit a definite toxicity cut-off to be identified for the single carbon number LCAAs or the multi-constituent substances. This is because the potential for physical effects to contribute to the results obtained for the C13 and 14 single carbon number alcohols, and the multi-constituent substances containing constituents with carbon numbers that are all >C12, cannot be excluded. However, it is reasonable to conclude from the data that are presented that it is unlikely that linear LCAAs with carbon numbers >C13 and multi-constituent LCAAs with carbon numbers all >C13 would be toxic.

 

References

 

Bengtsson, B., Renberg, L., and Tarkpea, M. (1984). Molecular structure and aquatic toxicity-An example with C1-C13 aliphatic alcohols. Chemosphere 13(5/6):613-622.

 

Bringmann, V. and Kuhn, R.1982. Results of toxic action of water pollutants on Daphnia magna Straus tested by an improved standardized procedure. Z. Wasser Abwasser Forsch. 15(1):1-6.

 

Burgess, D. and Forbis, A.D. 1983b. Acute toxicity of oxo alcohol 1100 to Daphnia magna. Static acute bioassay report 30851.

 

Burgess, D. and Forbis, A.D. 1983d. Acute toxicity of oxo alcohol 7911 to Daphnia magna. Static acute bioassay report 30848.

 

Burgess, D. and Forbis, A.D. 1983c. Acute toxicity of oxo alcohol 7900 to Daphnia magna. Static acute bioassay report 30845.

 

Fraunhofer Institute, 2005a, Daphnia, acute immobilization, Linevol 79. Study SDA-04/4-20, Fraunhofer Institute.

 

Henkel, 1998a. Henkel Report No. R9800103.

 

Henkel,1998b. Henkel KGaA Report No. R9800104.

 

Henkel KGaA., 1995. Report No. 9400262. May 1995.

 

Huntingdon Life Sciences Ltd.(HLS).1991a. Report No. SLL 207(a)/91714.

 

Huntingdon Life Sciences Ltd.(HLS).1991b. Report No. SLL 207(b)/91602.

 

Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology. 1997. Examination of 1-Dodecanol in an acute immobilization test in Daphnia magna. LPT Report No. 10762/97.

 

Shell, 2000a. Shell. RTS Report No. CT.00.47050.

 

Shell, 2001a. Shell. RTS Report No. OG.01.49011.

 

Shell Research Limited, 1983. Toxicity tests with Daphnia magna: Acute toxicity of eight test materials to a newly-introduced strain of D. magna in reconstituted fresh water. Shell Research Limited, Sittingbourne Research Centre. SBGR.83.100.

 

TNO Nutrition and Food Research Institute. 2000b. Static acute toxicity test with compound 33A abd the crustacean species Daphnia magna. TNO report V98.1320.

 

Unilever, 1995. Acute toxicity of 1-tetradecanol to Daphnia magna. Unilever. Study AT/ALC/BK4.

Unilever, 2010. The Acute toxicity of 1-tetradecanol to Daphnia magna. Testing laboratory: Unilever Port Sunlight Research Laboratory, Quarry Road East, Bebington, Wirral Merseyside, L63 3JW, UK. Owner Company: Unilever. Company study no.: AT/ACL/BK4. Report date: 2010-08-01 (2010 study report summarising a 1994 study).