Registration Dossier
Registration Dossier
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EC number: 231-595-7 | CAS number: 7647-01-0
Endpoint summary
Administrative data
Description of key information
Additional information
Environmental fate (hydrogen chloride and hydrochloric acid):
Hydrogen chloride gas for the production of hydrochloric acid (the only non-intermediate use of the gas covered by this dossier), even if not an intermediate in the sense of REACH, is nevertheless produced, transported and used in a completely closed system under strictly controlled conditions (see exposure scenario ES1 and ES2). HCl gas will either react away with hydroxyl radicals or will , in contact with moisture in air, soil or biological media , immediately dissociate to form hydrochloric acid (ref x[1]). Accidently escaped gas will thus mostly precipitate as diluted hydrochloric acid to water or soil. Therefore, the environmental fate of accidently escaped HCl gas is basically identical to the fate of hydrochloric acid in water or soil.
Production methods and/or Conditions for safe use and/or Exposure scenarios
Hydrogen chloride gas for the production of hydrochloric acid (the only non-intermediate use of the gas covered by this dossier), even if not an intermediate in the sense of REACH, is nevertheless produced, transported and used in an integrated, completely closed system under strictly controlled conditions.
Therefore, in the absence of exposure and/or environmental emission potential (other than accidental) no separate risk assessment is deemed necessary for this use up to and including the point where the gas is absorbed in water to form hydrochloric acid. (See exposure scenarios for production of HCl and Production of hydrochloric acid).
[1] Ref x: [Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); Screening Information Data Set (SIDS) for Hydrogen Chloride, CAS # 7647-01-0, p. 4-5 (2002). http://www.inchem.org/documents/sids/sids/7647010.pdf **PEER REVIEWED**
Environmental fate and pathways
According to the OECD SIDS 2002 Hydrogen chloride SIAR:
Hydrogen chloride is readily dissociated in water into hydrated protons and chloride ion.
The physico-chemical properties indicate that hydrogen chloride released into the environment is distributed into the air and water.
Hydrogen chloride can react with hydroxyl radicals to form chloride free radicals and water and its half-life time is calculated as 11 days. No accumulation of hydrogen chloride per se in living organisms is expected due to its high solubility and dissociation properties.
The hazard of hydrochloric acid for the environment is caused by the proton (pH effect). For this reason the effect of hydrochloric acid on the organisms depends on the buffer capacity of the aquatic ecosystem. Also the variation in acute toxicity for aquatic organisms can be explained for a significant extent by the variation in buffer capacity of the test medium.
Information on Registered Substances comes from registration dossiers which have been assigned a registration number. The assignment of a registration number does however not guarantee that the information in the dossier is correct or that the dossier is compliant with Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (the REACH Regulation). This information has not been reviewed or verified by the Agency or any other authority. The content is subject to change without prior notice.
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