Registration Dossier
Registration Dossier
Data platform availability banner - registered substances factsheets
Please be aware that this old REACH registration data factsheet is no longer maintained; it remains frozen as of 19th May 2023.
The new ECHA CHEM database has been released by ECHA, and it now contains all REACH registration data. There are more details on the transition of ECHA's published data to ECHA CHEM here.
Diss Factsheets
Use of this information is subject to copyright laws and may require the permission of the owner of the information, as described in the ECHA Legal Notice.
EC number: 207-838-8 | CAS number: 497-19-8
- 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
Additional information
In general the available toxicity studies with sodium carbonate were not conducted according to current standard guidelines. In many cases pH, buffer capacity and/or medium composition were not discussed in the publications, although this is essential information for toxicity tests with sodium carbonate. The main factor explaining the acute aquatic toxicity of sodium carbonate is most likely the increase of the pH.
The most appropriate parameter to assess the environmental effect of a sodium carbonate discharge is to determine the change in pH. To get an idea about the order of magnitude for acceptable anthropogenic additions, the acceptable sodium carbonate addition will be calculated for 2 representative cases. According to Directive 78/659/EEC, the pH of surface water for the protection of fish should be between 6 and 9. In section 5.1 it has been mentioned that the 10th-percentile and the 90th-percentile of the bicarbonate concentrations of 77 rivers were 20 and 195 mg/l, respectively. If it is assumed that only bicarbonate is responsible for the buffer capacity of the ecosystem and if it is assumed that an increase of the pH to a value of 9.0 would be the maximum accepted value then the acceptable anthropogenic addition of sodium carbonate would be 2.7 and 17 mg/L for bicarbonate concentrations of 20 and 195 mg/l, respectively (see Table 14). This gives an indication of the order of magnitude of the acceptable amount of sodium carbonate which could be discharged to an aquatic ecosystem if there was an emission of a pure sodium carbonate solution. Sodium carbonate concentrations of 2.7 and 17 mg/L are equivalent with the sodium concentrations of 1.2 and 7.4 mg/L. Sodium concentrations of 1.2 to 7.4 have no effect on aquatic organisms because sodium has a low toxicity for aquatic organisms. Reconstituted water of toxicity tests contains for example sodium concentrations which range between 3.3 and 105 mg/L.
Table 14: Concentration of sodium carbonate (mg/l) needed to increase the pH to values of 9.0, 10.0 and 11.0 (De Groot et al., 2002).
Buffer capacityA |
Final pHB |
||
|
9.0 |
10.0 |
11.0 |
0 mg/l HCO3 - (distilled water) |
1.1 (0.6) |
16 (6.1) |
603 (61) |
20 mg/l HCO3- (10th percentile of 77 rivers) |
2.7 (21) |
32 (26) |
766 (81) |
106 mg/l HCO3- (mean value of 77 rivers) |
9.7 (107) |
102 (112) |
1467 (167) |
195 mg/l HCO3 - (90th percentile of 77 rivers) |
17 (196) |
175 (201) |
2192 (256) |
A The initial pH of a bicarbonate solution with a concentration of 20 – 195 mg HCO3-/L is 8.3 (calculated).
B Between brackets the final concentration of bicarbonate is given.
[partly taken from OECD SIDS on sodium carbonate (2002), pg. 9 -10]
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.
Reproduction or further distribution of this information may be subject to copyright protection. Use of the information without obtaining the permission from the owner(s) of the respective information might violate the rights of the owner.