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Environmental fate & pathways

Bioaccumulation: aquatic / sediment

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Description of key information

BCF values of main components of wash oil fall in the range from below 100 (naphthalene) up to 1620 (phenanthrene). As 40% of wash oil constituent have lower BCF than acenaphthene, the upper range of  BCF values for this substance is considered to represent best the bioaccumulation potential of wash oil.

Key value for chemical safety assessment

BCF (aquatic species):
1 000 L/kg ww

Additional information

Due to the complex composition of creosote oil, acenaphthene fraction (wash oil) a single experimental BCF value cannot be determined for this UVCB substance. Individual components (all PAH) will have their own BCF values. Wash oil consists of 2- and 3- ring aromatic compounds: Approx. 65 % of wash oil components (percentage represents typical concentrations) comprise of naphthalene (11 – 13 % w/w), 1-methylnaphthalene (7 – 9 % w/w), 2-methylnaphthalene (17 – 20 % w/w), biphenyl (5 – 6 % w/w), fluorene (4 – 5 % w/w), acenaphthene (13 – 15 % w/w), and phenanthrene (ca. 2 % w/w). BCF values for these substances will be used to characterise the bioaccumulation potential of wash oil.

The studies in fish demonstrate that the naphthalenes have a low bioaccumulation potential, probably because the substances are metabolised rather quickly once taken up. There is no evidence for bioaccumulation and biomagnification in any species tested. Hence, the range for the BCF of approx. 40% of wash oil ingredients (content of naphthalenes) is between 30 and 190 (Roubal et al. 1978, NITE 1990).

In contrast to the results for the naphthalenes, a somewhat higher potential for bioaccumulation was shown for three ring PAH. For acenaphthene, BCF between 254 and 1270 were determined (NITE 1990). For phenanthrene, the study of Jonsson et al. 2004 demonstrated BCF of 700 and 1623 (steady state, low and high water concentration) and of 810 and 2229 (kinetic value (k1/k2), low and high water concentration). After extrapolation from a lipid content of 9.7% to a standard of 5%, kinetic BCF values changed to 417 and 1149 respectively (Lampi and Parkerton 2009).

These data indicate that the bioaccumulation potential of wash oil is only moderate with a range in BCF values for its main constituents being well below 2000 (maximum BCF for phenanthrene 1623).

The typical concentration of phenanthrene in wash oil is only ca. 2%. Constituents with lower BCF will dominate the bioconcentration potential of wash oil. Acenaphthene is considered to represent the mean bioaccumulation potential of wash oil as 40% of wash oil constituents (naphthalenes) have lower BCF. The BCF given below corresponds to the value for acenaphthene in fish (NITE 1990) and is estimated to be a conservative average of the range of single values for acenaphthene, while at the same time conservative for total wash oil.

References:

Lampi M and Parkerton T (2009) Bioaccumulation Assessment of PAHs - Review Paper Prepared for CONCAWE, October 2009