Registration Dossier
Registration Dossier
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EC number: 231-842-9 | CAS number: 7758-89-6
Endpoint summary
Administrative data
Description of key information
Additional information
Copper(I) ions are unstable in aqueous solution, tending to disproportionate to copper(II) and copper metal unless a stabilizing ligand is present. The only cuprous compounds stable in water are insoluble ones such as the sulfide, cyanide and fluoride (WHO 1998). Consequently, an analogy approach to copper(II)salts is appropriate for soluble copper(I) salts.
There are several excellent reviews on the aquatic toxicity of copper, e.g. U.S. EPA (2007) Update, Ambient water qualitiy criteria Copper; WHO (1998) EHC 200 Copper; or ECI (2008) European Union Risk Assessment Report, Voluntary Risk Assessment of copper, Copper(II)sulphate pentahydrate, Copper(I)oxide, Copper(II)oxide, Dicopper chloride trihydroxyde.
“Copper toxicity varies markedly due to various physicochemical characteristics of the exposure water, including temperature, dissolved organic compounds, suspended particles, pH, and various inorganic cations and anions, including those composing hardness and alkalinity. Many of these physicochemical factors affect copper speciation, and their effects on copper toxicity therefore could be due to effects on copper bioavailability. That bioavailability is an important factor is evident from uptake of copper by aquatic organisms being reduced by various organic compounds and inorganic ligands known to complex copper.” (U.S. EPA 2007)
Due to the various physico-chemical factors influencing copper- availability/-toxicity, the assessment of copper toxicity represents a highly complex process. For instance it is generally acknowledged, that copper toxicity decreases with increasing water hardness, increasing pH and high DOC concentrations (WHO 1998). There are numerous amounts of studies available on copper toxicity performed under various environmental conditions. In order to reach a comparability of these studies it is necessary to adjust these onto certain physicochemical standard conditions. U.S. EPA (2007) and ECI (2008) provided such an approach, adjusting a peer reviewed collection of toxicity data (acute and/or chronic values) to “reference exposure conditions”. Therefore, for further informations on copper toxicity, these two assessments are by thereby recommended.
Reference: European Copper Institute, ECI (2008). Voluntary Risk Assessment Report on Copper and its compounds.
U.S. EPA (2007) Update, Ambient water qualitiy criteria Copper.
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