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Please be aware that this old REACH registration data factsheet is no longer maintained; it remains frozen as of 19th May 2023.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.

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Description of key information

The activated sludge respiration inhibition test does not need to be conducted as the substances in the lithium salts of dicarboxylic acids (C6 - C10) category are readily biodegradable at concentrations that may be expected in the influent of a sewage treatment plant.

Key value for chemical safety assessment

Additional information

The activated sludge respiration inhibition test does not need to be conducted as the substancesin the lithium salts of dicarboxylic acids (C6 - C10) categoryare readily biodegradableat concentrations that may be expected in the influent of a sewage treatment plant. The substances woulddissociate and biodegrade in the environment, resulting in carbon dioxide, water and lithium ions.

 

Biodegradation data are available for the organic components. In the biodegradation studies (Gerike and Fischer 1979), adipic acid was readily biodegradable at all concentrations tested (up to 50 mg/L DOC, equivalent to 109.6 mg/L dilithium adipate) and was inherently biodegradable at 400 mg/L DOC (equivalent to 877 mg/L dilithium adipate). Although no toxicity controls were undertaken in the studies, as adipic acid meets the criteria for ready biodegradability, it is not considered toxic to micro-organisms.This conclusion is read across to other members of the category.

 

The lithium ion is inorganic and therefore ready biodegradability is not relevant.Lithium has an EC50 of 52.29 mg/L and an EC10 of 22.95 mg/L for toxicity to aquatic micro-organisms (ECHA Dissemination Portal). This would equate to an EC10 of 260.8 mg/L for dilithium adipate, which is above the NOEC calculated from the adipic acid result, indicating that the lithium component would not drive any toxicity to micro-organisms.

In most cases the reactions to form the grease thickener occur in-situ during the grease manufacturing process and consequently these grease thickeners normally only exist in the base oil matrix. In realistic use scenarios, the thickeners will be contained in base oil, with the formulated greases specifically designed to minimise the leaching of the thickener. The thickeners would not be bioavailable and therefore, toxicity to aquatic micro-organisms is not considered to be relevant.