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Toxicity to soil microorganisms

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Description of key information

No data are available on the toxicity of dimethyl terephthalate to soil microorganisms.  

Key value for chemical safety assessment

Additional information

This data point has been waived for dimethyl terephthalate on the grounds that exposure is not expected to occur and that DMT is readily biodegradable. Under these circumstances, data for the effects of dimethyl terephthalate on soil microorganisms are considered unnecessary.

Moreover, tests of the effects on activated sludge (Point 6.1.7; Voelskow, 1989), which typically has a microbial profile more closely resembling that of soil than sewage, and Pseudomonas putida (Point 6.1.7; Anonymous, 1993c), a bacterium ubiquitously present in aerobic compartments of the environment including soil, indicate that exposure to DMT is unlikely to result in adverse impact on microbial activity in soil. Soil microorganisms may be expected to degrade DMT rapidly under aerobic and anaerobic conditions.