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Please be aware that this old REACH registration data factsheet is no longer maintained; it remains frozen as of 19th May 2023.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

Biodegradation in water: screening tests

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Administrative data

Link to relevant study record(s)

Description of key information

Experimental data show that in common with many highly fluorinated alkanes 1,1,1,2 -tetrafluoroethane (HFC-134a) to be poorly degraded in water. However, as it is gas (boiling point -26°C) of low solubility it is difficult to dissolve in water and will readlily partition to air.

Key value for chemical safety assessment

Additional information

In the closed bottle assay with activated sludge, there was negligible (2 to 3%) biodegradation of HFC-134a after 28 days (Tobeta 1989). However, as HFC 134 is a gas (boiling point -26°C) of low solubility it is difficult to dissolve in water and will readily partition to air. Any that may be present in aqueous waste streams discharged directly into rivers or lakes would be expected to have a half-life with respect to volatilization of several days to a few weeks. A calculation with Epi Win software (US-EPA, 2009) suggests half-lives of about 1 hour for rivers and 96 hours for lakes. Therefore HFC 134a is not expected to be persistent in the aquatic environment.