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EC number: 240-383-3 | CAS number: 16291-96-6 An amorphous form of carbon produced by partially burning or oxidizing wood or other organic matter.
- 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
Genetic toxicity: in vitro
Administrative data
- Endpoint:
- genetic toxicity in vitro
- Remarks:
- Type of genotoxicity: gene mutation
- Type of information:
- other: Assessment
- Adequacy of study:
- key study
- Study period:
- May 2013
- Reliability:
- 2 (reliable with restrictions)
- Rationale for reliability incl. deficiencies:
- other: Reliability score 2 on the basis of the weight of evidence found during review of public documents relating to mutagenicity of charcoal and similar carbon materials.
Data source
Reference
- Reference Type:
- other company data
- Title:
- Unnamed
- Year:
- 2 013
- Report date:
- 2013
Materials and methods
Test guideline
- Qualifier:
- no guideline followed
- Guideline:
- other: literature assessment
- GLP compliance:
- not specified
- Type of assay:
- other: literature assessment
Test material
- Reference substance name:
- Charcoal
- EC Number:
- 240-383-3
- EC Name:
- Charcoal
- Cas Number:
- 16291-96-6
- IUPAC Name:
- Charcoal
Constituent 1
Results and discussion
Test results
- Species / strain:
- not specified
- Metabolic activation:
- not specified
- Genotoxicity:
- other: literature assessment
- Cytotoxicity / choice of top concentrations:
- other: literature assessment
Applicant's summary and conclusion
- Conclusions:
- Interpretation of results (migrated information):
negative
The test material is considered to be non-mutagenic following assessment of available published data - Executive summary:
General
The test material charcoal (EC no 240-383-3) is a UVCB substance which consists of the following main constituents: carbon (amorphous), ash, volatile organic material of undetermined composition and moisture. There may be some trace elemental impurities dependent on the origin / source of the wood from which it is made.
The substance is typically of low purity with impurities including organic compounds derived from wood. None of the impurities are considered to impact on classification. The substance is not classified as dangerous for the environment or to health.
Indirect data
A search of available literature for direct mutagenicity tests on charcoal itself revealed very little. Where charcoal was cited it was usually because it had been used (as activated charcoal) for removal of toxins from raw waters(1)or from cigarette smoke(2)or as an active carrier(3)prior to further testing for mutagenicity on other species. This in itself suggests that charcoal is not considered to be mutagenic in its own right since scientific studies would not be valid if the charcoal had contributed to the effect.
There is data or expert opinion available for other carbon materials that could be considered for ‘read-across’. In particular carbon black and carbon nanotubes have published data for mutagenicity testing.
Carbon Black data
Carbon black can be used as a ‘read-across’ substance for charcoal based on the following logic;
Charcoal is produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen. Activated charcoal is produced by exposure of charcoal to oxidizing atmospheres (carbon dioxide, oxygen, or steam) at temperatures usually in the range of 600–1200 °C. Charcoal is an impure form of amorphous carbon as it contains ash and other impurities but contains between 60 - 85% as fixed carbon.
Carbon black is a material produced by the incomplete combustion of heavy petroleum products as opposed to wood. Carbon black is a pure form of amorphous carbon that has a high surface-area-to-volume ratio in a similar way to activated charcoal.
Carbon black is a very pure form of amorphous carbon unlike charcoal but the vast majority of charcoal is amorphous carbon and therefore it is reasonable to assume that carbon black (CAS1333-86-4) can be used as a ‘read-across’ substance for the purpose of end point data.
The OECD SIDS Report for Carbon Black(4)gives the following assessment for mutagenicity;
In vitro, carbon blacks were non-mutagenic in various Ames tests, whilst organic extracts can exhibit a wide variety of activity, depending on the conditions of extraction. This activity is ascribed to mutagenic organic impurities (mainly polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) in the extract. Carbon black was tested negative in a mouse lymphoma assay, and did not induce sister chromatid exchanges in Chinese Hamster Ovary cells.
The mutagenic activities of carbon black extracts varied widely, and both negative and positive Ames test results are reported in the literature. A mutagenic activity was generally ascribed to mutagenic PAH materials that were present as impurities in the carbon black. (There are no such PAH substances in charcoal).
In summary the OECD report concluded that the available evidence strongly suggests that Carbon Black is not directly mutagenic and that mutations are caused by secondary mechanisms.
Carbon nano form data
The main constituent of charcoal is elemental carbon, therefore it is reasonable to read-across to data that has been obtained by using pure elemental carbon sources such as activated carbon and nano carbon forms.
A study using activated carbon nanoparticles (ACNP) has shown that it can decrease the genotoxicity and teratogenicity of mitomycin C (MMC) used in cancer treatment in humans(5).
This study appears to use a test method similar to a regulatory method (lung fibroblasts) and shows that adding activated carbon reduces mutagenicity of a known toxin. This clearly shows that the carbon itself is non-mutagenic.
Another study on single walled carbon nanotubes(6)concluded that there was no mutagenic effect by this material
Human observation
Only one study was found which related to this end point which was done on the urine of charcoal workers in Brazil(7). This study reported measurement of internal exposure to wood smokeamong charcoal workers, and the results showed that these workers receive a systemic exposure to genotoxic compounds. But this was attributed to the volatile organic compounds that are produced during the ‘charring’ process and not to the actual charcoal itself.
Conclusion
In the absence of direct data relating to the mutagenicity effect of charcoal, evidence gathered from published scientific reports and from read-across to other elemental carbon substances strongly suggests that charcoal is not mutagenic
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