No IUPAC name is currently defined for Cashew (Anacardium occidentale) Nutshell Extract, Decarboxylated (Technical Grade).

Ecotoxicological Summary

Hazard for aquatic organisms

Freshwater

Hazard assessment conclusion:

PNEC aqua (freshwater)

PNEC value:

9.26 µg/L

Assessment factor:

10

Extrapolation method:

assessment factor

Marine water

Hazard assessment conclusion:

PNEC aqua (marine water)

PNEC value:

0.926 µg/L

Assessment factor:

100

Extrapolation method:

assessment factor

STP

Hazard assessment conclusion:

PNEC STP

PNEC value:

100 mg/L

Assessment factor:

10

Extrapolation method:

assessment factor

Sediment (freshwater)

Hazard assessment conclusion:

PNEC sediment (freshwater)

PNEC value:

5 mg/kg sediment dw

Assessment factor:

100

Extrapolation method:

assessment factor

Sediment (marine water)

Hazard assessment conclusion:

PNEC sediment (marine water)

PNEC value:

0.5 mg/kg sediment dw

Assessment factor:

1 000

Extrapolation method:

assessment factor

Hazard for air

Air

Hazard assessment conclusion:

no hazard identified

Hazard for terrestrial organisms

Soil

Hazard assessment conclusion:

PNEC soil

PNEC value:

139.24 mg/kg soil dw

Extrapolation method:

equilibrium partitioning method

Hazard for predators

Secondary poisoning

Hazard assessment conclusion:

PNEC oral

PNEC value:

33.3 mg/kg food

Conclusion on classification

Cashew Nutshell Extract, Decarboxylated (Technical Grade) has a low water solubility (0.2 mg/l), a high log Kow of 6.2, a low vapour pressure (0.0002 Pa at 25^oC) and is ultimately (inherently) biodegradable (showing a 69.3% loss based on CO₂ production after 28 days).  Short-term toxicity tests on algae and fish using the test substance Technical Grade indicated that there were no toxic effects at the water solubility limit. No 21-day Daphnia magna Reproduction Test has been conducted on Technical Grade, but data has been interpolated from studies on the source substances Distilled and Distillation Residue Grades. In both studies no effects on reproduction, parental mortality and growth were evident in daphnids exposed to Water Soluble Fractions (WSFs) of these substances prepared at any of the loading rates between 1.0 to 10 mg/l (which is the maximum rate that can be tested) resulting in 21-day No Observed Effect Concentrations of 10 mg/l based on loading rate.  A similar response has been estimated for the target substance Technical Grade which equates to a value of 0.0926 mg/l (92.6 µg/l) based on the measured concentrations of the three forms of cardanol in the studies on the source substances. In Bioaccumulation in Fish studies on the source substances Distilled and Distillation Residue Grades the individual BCF values obtained for the three cardanol components in the UVCB, both before and after lipid normalisation, were below the threshold value of 2000 L/kg in all cases. On this basis the target substance Technical Grade is not considered to be bioaccumulative. According to the requirements of the GHS classification of the poorly water soluble Cashew Nutshell Extract, Decarboxylated (Technical Grade) for long-term aquatic toxicity is considered unnecessary. No effects are expected in the long-term toxicity test for invertebrates (the most sensitive taxa) which indicates a probable absence of chronic toxicity at the water solubility limit of Technical Grade. The substance is also not expected to be bioaccumulative and is inherently biodegradable, almost meeting the criterion for ready biodegradability (rapid degradation).