Urea, reaction products with diethylene glycol, formaldehyde and glyoxal

Short-term toxicity to fish

Description of key information

With high probability acutely not harmful to fish.

Key value for chemical safety assessment

Fresh water fish

Fresh water fish

Effect concentration:

2 500 mg/L

Additional information

Since no data for toxicity are available for the submission item, data from a similar product are used to cover this endpoint. The effects of a substance named "Dimethylol-Dihydroxi-Ethylenharnstoff" (CAS 92908-35-5) were tested in a fish study according to DIN 38 412, part L15 in 1990. Applying todays understanding, terminology and analytical methods, the test item is more appropriately described as a reaction product of urea with formaldehyde and glyoxal. Thus, the composition of the test item of this study is very similar to the one of the registration item, the only difference being diethylene glycol as additional part of the composition of the registration item. As confirmed by chemical analyses, the registration item contains about 18% (w/w) unbound Diethylene glycol. Diethylene glycol as a discrete chemical is not harmful to aquatic organisms. Furthermore, also the reaction products of diethylene glycol with the other constituents of the registration item are not expected to have significant impact on the environmental effects of the registration item. This is supported by the absence of adverse effects as revealed by the acute aquatic toxicity studies of the registration item on daphnia and algae. Hence, the results of the acute fish study of "Dimethylol-Dihydroxi-Ethylenharnstoff" are considered appropriate to serve as read-across data for the assessment of the toxicity to fish of the registration item. Therefore, and for reasons of animal welfare, an acute toxicity study of the registration item in fish is not provided.